IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) /. i.O I.I I ^ IIS t 1^ 12.0 [.8 1.25 1.4 J4 -^ 6" — — ► ^^/ ^. Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 4? ^ /a CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques ^.u '%'• Technical snd Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibiiographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. D D D n Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagde Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurde et/ou pellicul6e Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Relid avec d'autres documents rr^ Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion D n along interior margin/ La re liure serr6e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intdrieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^es lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela ^tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas dt6 fiimdes. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl6mentaires; L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mithode normale de filmage sont indiquds ci-dessous. The c< to the I I Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommagies Pages restored and/oi Pages restaurdes et/ou pelliculdes Pages discoloured, stained or foxei Pages ddcolor^es, tachet6es ou piqu^es Pages detached/ Pages d6tach6es Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of prir Qualit6 indgale de I'impression Includes supplementary materia Comprend du matdriel supplementaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible I I Pages damaged/ I I Pages restored and/or laminated/ I I Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ r^\^ Pages detached/ r~pr Showthrough/ rTT Quality of print varies/ I I Includes supplementary material/ I I Only edition available/ The in possifc of the fllmini Origin begini the la) sion, ( other first p sion, i or illut The la shall c TINUE which Maps, diffarc entirel beginr right a requin metho D Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6X6 filmies d nouveau de facon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X y 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X lire details ues du modifier ger une filmage 6es re y errata »d to nt ie pelure, con d n The copy filmed here has oeen reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Metropolitan Toronto Library Science & Technology Department The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibiliiy of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back covor when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol ^^^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol y (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: 1 2 3 L'exemplaire filmi fut reproduit grdce d la ginirositi de: Metropolitan Toronto Library Science & Technology Department : Les images suivantes ont 6x6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tanu de la condition et de la netteti de l'exemplaire filmA, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimie sont fiim^s en commen^ant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la derniire page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film6s en commenpant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et an terminant par la dernidre pa^e qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboSes suivants apparaitra sur la derniire image tie cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols •^»- signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN ". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmte 6 des taux de reduction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour itre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est filmd d partir de Tangle sup^rieur gauche, de gauche 6 droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 4 5 6 & i THE BOOK OF GAMES ! l| i ^ 1 i p — . . r-: « , n i ' (•--« v^-. .^, .^ ■.■^? \-:- ^WmWW.. 'T I i:; J i ry THE BOOK OF GAMES WITH DIRECTIONS HOW TO PLAY THEM BY MARY WHITE EIGHTH EDITION TORONTO GEORGE N. MORANG 1898 m I 4 5 ^] O G Copyright, 1898, by Charle* Scribner's Sons for the United Statei of America Printed by the Trow Directory, Printing and Bookbinding Company New York, U. S. A. .1 pany ; ^ , .1 ^0 ^ke Qame (Stub ^^: ii . »! !^ PREFATORY NOTE TO THE EIGHTH EDITION To the game-loving people who so kindly welcomed the first appearance of this little book (under the title, " The Book of a Hun- dred Games"), I send my warmest thanks. That it was so cordially received in England, the paradise of sports, has been most gratify- ing, and this encourages me to send it forth again with fifteen additional games and a new dress. M. W. Bay Ridge, August 9, 1898. ' il i ■s> PREFACE The object of this Httle book is to give, to those who need them, a number of new games, with changes rung on the old favorites. It came to be written in this way. Some two years ago twenty people, particularly choice and congenial spirits, gravitated together and called themselves the Game Club. It was hardly a club, except in name, for there were no officers, and no dues, and no quarrels; but all were agreed upon a few necessary points. All felt that they cared more for games than for dancing. All were ready to lay aside their dignity and vanity for the sake of mak- ing games a success. All agreed that the meet- ings should be fortnightly and each time at a different member's house. All agreed to agree. And so the Game Club grew and prospered until it had played all the games in old and u ,' ix X Preface new game-books, and then it mi -e g "les for itself and sumetimes made over ^ o. ones. Two years is a good old age for a Game Club, and yet it still lives and flourishes, and from its experience it sends you The. Book of a Hundred Games. M. W. Bay Ridge, N. Y., January 25, I896. >^' .!•) fl ,.>V?''*"' CONTENTS PART I Games Requiring Preparation FAGB I. Guessing Match 3 II. Missing Letters, 4 III. Butterflies, 6 IV. The Most Improbable Story, . . 8 V. Memory, 10 VI. Living Catalogre 11 VII. Animate Art 12 VIII. Silhouettes, 14 IX. Twisted Animals, . 17 X. Industrial Fair, . 18 XI. Soap-bubbles 20 XII. Geographical Letters, . 22 XIII. Newspaper . 25 XIV. Sequels to Mother Goose's Rhymes, . 31 XV. Three Rhyming Games, .... . 33 XVI. Fan-ball, . 37 XVII. Intercollegiate Foot-ball 39 I 11 XI xii Contents PAGB XVIII. Parodies,. 42 XIX. Bouquet, 43 XX. Mirth 45 XXI. Vice Versa, 46 XXII. Progressive Puzzles, 48 XXIII. Eye-guessing, 49 XXIV. The Objective Library, 51 XXV. Initials, 54 XXVI. Auction, 56 XXVII. Commerce, 58 XXVIII. Stray Syllables 60 XXIX. Baby Show, 61 XXX. Palette, 63 XXXI. China Painting, 65 XXXII. Shadow Pictures 66 XXXIII. Silhouettes in Disguise, 70 XXXIV. What would you do if ? .... 71 XXXV. Songs for Several Singers 73 XXXVI. Who am I? 74 XXXVII. Location, 75 XXXVIII. Fashion Notes 76 XXXIX. Composite Pictures, 78 XL. A Penny for Your Thoughts, .... 79 XLI. Alliterative Literature, ..... » 81 XLII. Sight Unseen 83 '\ Contents Xlll PAGE XLIII. Household Fragrance, 84 XLIV. Flags of All Nations, . . . 86 XLV. Blockade 87 XLVI. Domestic Architecture, . . 89 XLVII. Blind Artists 90 XLVIII. Buying Forfeits, .... 91 XLIX. A Boy's Pockets, .... 92 L. Personal Preference Pictures, 93 LI. Peanut Hunt, 94 LII. Zoological Game, .... 95 LIII. Conundrums, 96 LIV. Compositions, .... 97 LV. Broken Quotations, . . . 98 LVI. Photograph Whist, .... 99 LVIL Celebrities, ..... 100 LVIII. Planting Peanuts, .... 101 LIX. Patchwork Illustration, . . 102 LX. Swaps, . 103 LXI. Nicknames of Cities, . . . 105 LXII. Biography 106 LXIII. Talking Shop, 107 LXIV. Natural History, .... 109 \ t:* I f I h, <\ >i — -**'^ XIV Contents PART II IMPROMPTU Games ' PAGE LXV. A Spoonful of Fun, 113 LXVI. Trades 114 LXVII. What is My Thought Like ? 115 LXVIII. Personal Conundrums, ti7 LXIX. Cities 117 LXX. Jenkins, 118 LXXI. Short Stories, 120 LXXII. The Impossible Cat, 122 , LXXIII. Famous Characters, 123 LXXIV. Stuff and Nonsense, 124 LXXV. Theatrical Titles of Books, . . . .126 LXXVI. Orchestra, 127 LXXVII. Bequests, 128 LXXVIII. Teapot 129 LXXIX. Dumb Motions 13o LXXX. Scouts 131 LXXXI. Commercial Traveller, 132 LXXXII. The Seasons, 134 LXXXIII. Who is My Neighbor ? 135 LXXXIV. How? Where? When? 137 LXXXV. Nonsense Rhymes 138 LXXXVl. Button, Button, Negatively, . . . .139 LXXXVII. Gardening, 140 Contents xv * PAGE LXXXVIII. Philopena, 141 LXXXIX. Cross-questions and Silly Answers, . .142 XC. Spirits 144 XCI. Wordy Word 146 XCII. Advice, ■ . . .147 XCIII. Fire, 148 XCIV. It, 14'> XCV. Telegrams, 151 XCVI. Boston Telegrams, 152 XCVII. Postman, 153 XCVIII. Barber Shop 155 XCIX. Royal Lady, 156 C. Horn Monkey, 157 CI. Useless Information, 158 PART III Games for Special Occasions CII. New Year's Resolutions, . . . .' . l6l cm. St. Valentine's Day 162 CIV. Washington's Birthday 165 CV. April First l67 CVI. Hallowe'en 168 CVII. Topsy-turvy and Christmas Party, . .173 CVIII. A Children's Party for Grown People, . 175 N V \ ' ■■*. ■V'fi (■ t I l!i:l i i I I 1 \ \ xvi Contents PART IV Old Favorites for Children FACE CIX. My Lady's Toilet, . 179 ex. Hunt the Whistle 18O CXI. Bookbinder 18I CXII. Blowing the Feather, 182 CXIII. Magic Music, 183 CXIV. Animals, i8S CXV. Trolley-car, 186 SOME FORFEITS, J89 \ '/!-i' PAGB . 179 . 180 . 181 . 182 . 183 . 185 . 186 . J 89 PART I GAMES REQUIRING PREPARATION ■i -W ;i ^i\ n .i.,i-i ^•Mx^r- wmmnK i Guessing Match Materials Fequired: As many sheets of paper and pencil i as there are players; a prize appropriate for a lady or gentleman. A number of articles of unknown size, quan- tity, dimensions, weight, age, etc., are arranged on a table. The full particulars about these articles the leader has, of course, ascertained. Then the company are invited to view, handle, and examine the articles and guess as to their respective details. Every article should be numbered so that the guesses may be written on a slip of paper by each person, opposite corresponding numbers. The best guesser, of course, wins the prize. The following articles are suggested, and others will readily occur to anyone : 1, Number of beans in a glass jar; 2, weight of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary; 3, length of a ball if)?' *4 fii I f-i i ! i-i ) ,.i1^ -^ ■-"■'*; 4 ' The Book of Games of twine J 4, number of playing-cards in a pacIc,from wliicli several liave been taken; 5, height of a pole; 6, number of Sitds in an orange; 7, quantity of water in a pail ; 8, number of pins in a pin-cushion ; 9, age of a cat (or dog or baby) ; 10, how long a piece of candle will burn; 11, denomination of a postage-«tamp turned face downward; 12, photographs of famous people whose names are better known tlian their faces. II Missing Letters Materials Required : As many pencils and written or type-written lists as there are players ; a prize. This is an English game, played by our cousins over the water. Here it is, imported and Americanized. The players take seats in a circle, and a pencil is given to each one, with a sheet of paper on which has been written or type-writteii, preferably the latter, a list like the following: ■. ; ;x MISSING LETTERS ' : ' (X rtprtsenti the missing tttUri) 1. Max (first in every home). • 2. Lxxe (couldn't live without it). ■>-. Missitjg Letters 5 3. Xx\e (the more you take from it the larger it gets). 4. A'oox (it's all over the house). 5. Loxx (found in the suburbs). 6. A'raxt (gives a cold, cures a cold, and pays the doctor). 7. A'eaxty (desirable for unattractive women). 8. A'rxxs (that for which women spend too much money). 9. Lxnxs (near to every maiden's heart). 10. Tjcaxsxbxtxnxixtxoxa;xbcnxsx (longest word in the English language). n I! m It will readily be seen that there are several possible answers to each word, but the real key is as follows: 1. Mat/^c^v • 4. Roof.y(r«t 7. Realty. 2. U{e.lf^. S. Lots. 8. Dress. 3. Hole. 6. Draft. 9. Lungs. 10. Transubstantiationableness. The players are requested to write the an- swers as they guess them against the words in their lists, and one of their number, either the host or a leader chosen from among the play- ers who is familiar with the key, >\aits in readiness to correct the papers as they are iir ( , ' i'l -'ii kl 6 The Book of Games handed to him by the contestants. The lists may be corrected as many times as is neces- sary, for everyone can guess again until one person succeeds in writing all the answers cor- rectly. A prize may, in fact should, be given to the winner in this brain-developing exercise, and an appropriate award is one of the puzzles which abound in sueet " 'akirs' " carts. Ill Butterflies Materials Required: As many sheets of note-pa^fr as there are players ; the same number of sheets of stout brown paper, 6byg inches in size; a palette or plate ; the scrapings of paint from an artisfs palette^ or one tube each of the following oil-paints: white, vermilion, new blue, yellow, crimson lake ; a palette-knife ; several paper- knives s a prize in the form of a butterfly, if desired, A favorite game with the art students in Paris is making butterflies. They take sheets of note-paper or brown paper and the paints '■'4 I The lists lis neces- intil one ^ers cor- !n to the [cise, and puzzles sheets of ? number ' in shey from an ollowing ycilow^ Paper' '^r/iy. if ents in : sheets paints tm Butterflies 7 left on their palettes at the close of the day, or tubes taken haphazard from a paint-box; then, folding the pieces of paper exactly through the centre, they put a bit of paint (composed of several colors and about as much as would cover a five-cent piece) on the inside of the paper near the place where it is folded and just in the centre; then, pressing the paper closely together, they hold it to the light, when it shows just where the paint is. Taking a clean palette-knife or paper-knife and starting at the fold in the paper, they press the paint outward and upward in the form of a butter- fly's wing, the upper one, as though the but- terfly were seen in profile ; and starting again in the same place, but pressing downward, they get the lower and smaller wing. When all this is done and when held up to the light a fairly well-formed butterfly is seen, the papers are opened and there is a perfect butterfly with spread wings! If plenty of paint has been used there will be ridges quite suggestive of scales on the butterfly's wings, and the color combinations are often wonderfully beautiful. With brown paper (heavy, glazed is the best) \\\ y ;S 1 1, m 8 T})e Book of Games bits of white paint will show up well, and inter- esting varieties of the white butterfly will re- sult. A prize in the form of a butterfly may or may not be given to the person who has made the most beautiful butterfly, but if the players add their autographs to the painted butterflies they have made, their hostess will have an interesting collection of souvenirs of the occa- sion and one well worth keeping. IV The Most Improbable Story Materials Required: As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players j a prize, Whien all are seated in a circle and all pro- vided with pencils and paper, it is announced that this is a competition, and that the one who writes the most improbable story in twenty minutes gets the prize. When the time is up the papers are collected and redistributed so r- e- The Most Improbable Story 9 that each player gets some other player's story, and they are then read aloud. The writer of the most improbable — not the most interest- ing or the cleverest, but the most improbable — story is the prize winner. Here is an example : A LION HUNT In the year 1927 a young man was seen slowly mean- dering rapidly down Twenty-third Avenue, in Greater New York, on the back of a camel with a long tail and gold eyeglasses. In his right hand he carried a can- non and in his other an umbrella. He was a young man for his age, but looked older. His costume consisted of a coat-of-arms and knickerbockers of the same, and on his head he wore a red cap made of black sheet-iron. In his face was a look of grim determination and a corn- cob pipe. As he neared the corner in the middle of the block a mighty roar like the sound of a Jersey mosquito reached his ear — in fact his two ears — and simulta- neously or sooner four hundred and seven real live lions with angry tails and mounted on nice red wooden wheels rushed out right straight at him and announced their sad determination to eat him all up. He said not a word nor anything else, but just aimed his cannon and pulled the spigot, and when the votes were all in and the smoke of battle cleared away all were dead or slain outright or mortally wounded. 1 M ■V\ ' H i' i ' : lO The Book of Games Memory Materials Required : Twenty small ar tide s^ such as scissors J tape-measure ^ ink-stand, thimble, calendar, paper of pins, spectacle-case, pill-box, tack-hammer, knife, candlestick, etc.; as many sheets of paper and pencils as there are guests ; a prize. In the middle of a room adjoining the one in which you are to receive your guests place a round table, and on it arrange twenty small ailicles, very much assorted. As many sheets of paper as there are to be guests should be numbered down the left-hand side from 1 to 20. Keep the doors between the rooms closed until all the guests have arrived, when the doors may be thrown open and all asked to go into the room where the table is, and to look carefully at the exhibition of articles for three minutes. At the end of that time everybody is sent back to the other room, the doors are again closed and each one re- ceives one of the numbered sheets of paper and is requested to write from memory a list \si:vi Living Catalogue II of the things seen on the table. Ten minutes is the time allowed for this, and then a true list of the articles is read and each person corrects his or her own paper. To the one who has remembered most a prize may be given. VI Living Catalogue All the guests should be asked, when they are bidden to this party, to come dressed to represent the titles of books. Each person should be thoroughly acquainted with the book he or she represents, so that, as far as possible, the idea of the book may be carried out in the actions of the impersonator. At the end of the evening a vote should be taken as to who de- serves the prize for the most original costume. A few suggestions of books may not be out of place here, although in any library catalogue will be found plenty of original and easily represented titles: " A Woman's Reason," Howells— by the word " Be- cause " worked on the belt or girdle. 4 ! 12 The Book of Games "Roundabout Papers," Thackeray— may be repre- sented by a deep necklace of papers worn by the player who chooses this title. " Twice-Told Tales," Hawthorne— by wearing strings of the large French chestnuts all over the costume. " Cast Up by the Sea "—by shells, sea- weed, old cans, etc., disposed about the costume. "Tired of Housekeeping," T. S. Arthur— advertise- ments of Board Wanted should be cut from many papers and sewed all over the dress. " A Tale of Two Cities," Dickens — is easily arranged by fastening a New York newspaper at the neck, in front, and a Boston paper at the back in the same way, the general effect being like a " sandwich-man " ready for work. " The Charge of the Light Brigade," Tennyson— by gas-bills sewed thickly all over the dress. VII Animate Art Materials Required : ImpromP'ifoot-lightSy which may be two lamps with reflectors j curtain; back-curtain of dark cloth. When inviting your guests to the party at which this game is to be given, aslc each per- son to come prepared to pose as a figure in Animate Art 13 some well-known picture. If there ure two or more from the same family invited so much the better, for then they can represent a pict- ure containing several figures. Each guest, of course, brings his or her own costume. The hostess or some one of the guests may be stage-manager. There will be little to arrange if yOu have two rooms with folding-doors or portieres between, for the curtain can then be done away with. The most important thing is to have a good strong light, foot-light lamps, or, failing this, two reflector-lamps, to be ar- ranged at tiie sides. A dark cloth curtain should be hung as a background about four feet behind the front curtain, and an improve- ment and elaboration is a third curtain of black netting or gauze, which, if stretched between the audience and the tableaux, softens and adds to me effect of the latter. The following are a few suggestions for subjects : "When I was a Bachelor," from Mother Goose; a picture representing the lines — « I was forced to bring my wife home in 1 wheelbarrow, The wheelbarrow broke ! " ) ! i?i: I ' 1 14 The Booh of Games " Spring," as she is depicted in the patent-medicine advertisements, rosy and smiHng, and talcing a dose of spring medicine. "An Aztec Fragment," angular, seated figure, with costume and attitude copied from Aztec or Egyptian pictures; one hand pointed forward, the other holding lotus-flower with a stem like a corkscrew. VIII Silhouettes Materials Required: As many sheets of silhouette -paper (dull black on one side and white on the other) as there are players ; a lamp with reflector; a pencil ; four thumb-tacks; one pair of scissors ; as many large sheets of white card- board as there are players ; fifty beans in an en- velope for each player ; a bottle of mucilage. Sheets of the dull-black paper, called silhou- ette-paper and mentioned in the Zoological Game (which see), are needed for this game, one apiece for each member of the party, and a few over in case of accident. One of the party who is quick and clever with his pencil is chosen artist, and he selects for a studio some place where there is a large stretch Silhouettes 15 of wall. A strong lamp with a reflector having been provided, all other lights are put out, and one by one the players come to have their silhouettes cut. A sheet of the silhouette-paper, white side out, is pinned to the wall with a thumb-tack at each corner. The lamp is so arranged that a person seated parallel with the wall and from six inches to a foot from it will cast a clear black shadow on the white paper. The artist then draws rapidly the profile as it is cast, the sitter keeping as quiet as possible. Another one of the party cuts these profiles out, along the pencilled outlines, or each per- son may cut his or her own. When all are finished they may be pasted to sheets of white cardboard and an exhibition of them arranged in an adjoining room. After- ward an auction sale of these works of art is held, fifty beans apiece being provided for money, and this can be made very amusing if the auctioneer is a good one. , . !■ 1 1 -a \ r I 1' 11 ANOTHER VERSION OF THE SAME GAME This game has been played quite as satis- factorily in a somewhat different way. The h I / i6 T}3e Booh of Games materials required are the same as for the first, except there are no beans needed, and there should be : * As many slips of paper as there are players ; several pairs of scissors ; half as many pencils as there are players ; twice as many thumb-tacks as there are players ; two or more lamps ; two prizes for lady and gentleman. As the guests arrive there are two bowls filled with slips of paper, one for the gentle- men and the other for the ladies. Every slip is numbered, and there are duplicates of the ladies' numbers in the gentlemen's bowl ; thus everyone draws a partner. Each person re- ceives a sheet of silhouette -paper, a pencil, and four thumb-tacks; and each then draws the other's silhouette as before described, cuts it out, pastes it, black side out, on a sheet of white cardboard, and the pairs of silhouette^ are then exhibited. A committee, chosen from the players, decides which pair of portraits is the best, and the lady and gentleman who made them each win a prize. r 0 n \ ,'i 11 Twisted Animals 17 IX Twisted Animals Materials Re :uired : As many pencils and type-written lists as there are guests ; a prize. Type -written lists like the following are pre- pared for this game : i. Peesli. 2. Duggop. 3. Roast Slab. 4. Leap Then. 5. Firtage. 6. Torte. 7. Rugaja. 8. Aimcosh. 9. Grabed. 10. Retirer. 11. Parti. 12. Kacopec. 13. Somsoup. 14. Unnepig, 15. Ricecoldo. Also this key, which is kept in the host's pos- session : 1. Sheep. 2. Pug dog. 3. Albatross. 4. Elephant. 5. Giraffe. 6. Otter. 7. Jaguar. 8. Chamois. 9. Badger. 10. Terrier. 11. Tapir. 12. Peacock. 13. Opossum. 14. Penguin. 15. Crocodile. Each guest receives a list and pencil on ar- riving, and the host explains that the object of the game is to straighten out the animals' names and write them in regular order below ';;■: 1* i8 The Booh of Games the "twisted" list. In twenty minutes the papers should be finished, signed, and hand- ed to the host or leader, who redistributes them, giving each person another's paper. The key is then read aloud, the correct names on each paper are checked off, and a prize is given to the person who has un- twisted the most animals. X INDUSTRIAL FAIR Materials Required : As many blank cards as there are players ; Architect^ pencil and paper j Rug-maker^ canvas six inches square^ colored worsteds i and needle ; Boat-builder^ piece of wood and a knife ; Potter ^ lump of clay ; Dressmaktr^ piece of silk or cotton^ needle^ thready and scis- sors; Millinery doll's hat and trimming ; Shoe- maker ^ piece of kid or chamois^ needle^ thready and scissors ; Jeweller ^ box of colored beads^ needle^ and thread s Glove-maker^ piece of undressed kid with thread of same colore needle^ and scis- sors J Tailor y piece of clothe scissors, needle, and thread ; Inventor, paper and pencil ; Land- scape Gardener, pencil and paper ; Printer, small 'rr*i Industrial Fair 19 stamping or printing outfit ; Builder^ box of blocks. This game involves some trouble in the preparation, but the hostess will receive a full return in the amusement which she will afford her guests. The plan is to assign a trade to each person, with materials with which to make some article appropriate to such trade. Cards may be written beforehand, with a trade on each ; these the players draw from a bowl, one apiece; then, presenting them to the hostess, each player receives the materials prepared for his or her trade and the game begins in earnest. Seated about a table or round the room the players work at their trades for a given time— an hour is not too long. At the end of this time the manufactured articles are all collected and an exhibition of them is arranged. A committee, chosen from among the exhib- itors, decides upon the best article, and a prize is awarded to the maker of it. A number of suggestions for trade: are given under " Materials Required," and others will readily occur to one's mind. The trades are given indiscriminately, and it is very amusing to see I i ri 1 i j n 1 ! 20 The Book of Games an unfortunate gentleman awkwardly trim- ming a hat or making a tidy or dress, while a lady as boat-builder whittles with unac- customed fingers. XI SOAP-BUBBLES Materials Required : As many clay pipes as there are players y and several over in case of accident ; a bowl of soap and water j simple prizes for each event. It is a relief sometimes to find a game that does not require any intellectual effort. If you are looking for such a game stop here, for soap- bubbles will cure mental exhaustion. There should be clay pipes for all the players, and a few over in case of breakage. A huge bowl of soap and water, made very soapy with the kind of soap that " floats," should be placed on a small table in a convenient place. The pipes are tied with ribbons and the players may match ribbons to find their partners, who s Soap-Bubhles ai i strive together for the prizes, which are given for the largest bubble, the bubble tluit goes highest, for the one that lasts longest, for the most bubbles from one dip of the pipe, and for the most beautiful coloring in a bubble. If it is possible to arrange for this party out- of-doors it is a fascinatingly pretty sight, and with a light wind the bubbles will float for a long time. The party can be divided into two sides for a soap-bubble contest. At a sig- nal given by the umpire all dip their pipes and blow, and the side which blows the largest bubble wins. On a tennis-court the two sides can play against each other, both trying to pre- vent their opponents' bubbles from coming on their sides of the net. Every bubble floating over in this way counts fifteen points for the side which started it. The ladies make the bubbles and the gentlemen stand close to the net to blow their own bubbles over and pre- vent their opponents' bubbles from coming into their territory. In-doors this game may be played by dividing a room with a cord or ribbon stretched across the middle, as the tennis-net divides a court. i 'Si 22 The Booh of Games XII Geographical Letters Materials Required : A box of anagram 'ji'ers ; a prize. This game can be played by as many peo- ple as can be seated comfortably around a dining-room table. From a bowl filled with anagram letters the leader throws one letter on the table, face up, and the player who first calls a geographical noun beginning with that letter takes the letter. No noun may be given twice. When the bowl is empty each player counts his letters, and the one who has the most receives a prize. THE PROGRESSIVE VERSION This game iiay be elaborated by making it progressive. Materials Required : Two boxes of ana- gram letters j as many cards and programme- 1 Geographical Letters 23 pencils as there are players ; half as many yards of different colored narrow ribbon as there are players ; a first prize and a booby prize. For the benefit of those who have never played progressive euchre or other progressive games, or have forgotten how to play them, the following description is given : The number of guests invited should be divisible by four, so that there may be just enough to play the game and none over. Divide your list of guests by four and the answer will be the number of small tables nec- essary to have ready. Arrange these about your room — suppose there are twenty-four e"uests and six tables — one v/ill be the Head iable, the next the Second, next the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and last. Provide as many blank cards as there are guests, number four of them " No. 1 " for the head table, and tie through two of these bows of one color of ribbon, with a small pencil attached to each ; through the other pair, two ribbons of another color with pencils, and proceed in the same way for the cards for all the other tables. \- m fr VI p-ii 1'.; r »•! ' I m i H The Booh of Games Now take half of these cards, one of each of the two colors provided for every table, and put them in a bowl, from which, as the ladies arrive, each takes one. From another bowl (into which has been put the other half of the cards) the gentlemen each take a card, and then match ribbons to find their partners. Take two boxes of anagram letters and divide into six parts, putting one part on each table in a bowl or other dish. When all are ready the hostess rings a bell and the game, as previously described, begins. When the players at the head table have finished the bell is again rung and the players at the other tables must stop too. The winning players at the Head Table stay where they are, the defeated ones go to the Sixth Table, and the winners at all the other tables go up one toward the Head Table. At each change of tables a change of partners takes place, and the players mark their cards one game lost or won as the case may be. At the end of an hour or half an hour, as the hostess may decide, the person who has won the most games receives a prize, and the one who has f:?r Newspaper 25 tost most receives a booby prize. A sugges- tion for the latter is a primary geography or a small globe. XIII Newspaper Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of foolscap paper as there are players. The making of a newspaper may not be amusing in itself, but a game based on it is delightfully so. It is played in this way. At the top of sheets of foolscap paper (as many as there are to be players) the names of dif- ferent departments of a daily paper are writ- ten, one on each. These sheets and a pencil apiece are then distributed among the players with the request that they shall each write an article according to the headings furnished them. In half an hour all the articles must be finished and handed to the host, or one of the players previously appointed Editor-in-Chief. The paper is then read aloud. For example: ■ fl6 The Booh of Games EXCELSIOR VOL.1. NO. I PRICELESS EDITORIAL OUR NAME We present this morning the initial number of our journal, which is dedicated to sound politics, the brave and the true. For this reason we have selected as a name for our gentle fledgling "Excelsior," after a famous poem written in Camden, N. J., by James Whit- comb Reilly. The editor made, but a few short months ago, a journey to our ancient home in Cambridge, Mass., on the banks (still solvent) of the Concord. While breathing the rarefied air of this thrice-blessed locality, hallowed by memories which have made it famous the world over, the idea of starting this journal was born. Its mission is to bring the material world to a true realization of the beautiful as set forth by the works of our New England forefathers, still exemplified in the daily life of the present generation. We can promise a fair and liberal treatment to all men, women, and kids. Subscription, $2.00 a year, payable in cash. No farm produce taken at more than fifty per cent, discount. OUR CIRCUL/ITfON HIGH-WATER MARK, 7,250,000 COPIES HOURLY - The attention of our readers may properly be called to certain contemporaries which by disgraceful sensational n si ii ai C a ^ ii \ <; Newspaper 27 methods have leaped to notoriety and great wealth at a single bound. Our popularity has been won by adher- ing to principles in accord with the sound judgment and practical good sense of the nation. We stand by Grc»ver Cleveland, the McKinley tariff, and paper money, and presently a fifty-four-story building will arise in Newspaper Row to attest the financial soundness of our platform. In the meantime our books are open for the inspection of a suspicious public. Since Jumbo's death we may justly claim the largest circulation in the United States; certainly the silver dollar is not " in it" with us, nor the Ferris wheel. ;i' 5 :r:i f ;. WEATHER REPORT Fair to stormy ; northeasterly winds, changing to due east. Fair, southerly winds in south of New York; showery, with fair weather. High gales along the East- ern coast, with mild weather. A probable blizzard will arrive between October and June, coming from north- west, with warm, light rains ; slightly cooler and clear. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS To A. Tough : It is not considered etiquette in the best circles for a gent to werr his hat in a lady's parlor. To S. Tistics : If a man had walked through all the grounds and buildings at the Columbian Exposition he would have traversed more than four billion miles. U 1 ■1: 28 The Book of Games To Penny Ante : Poker can be played by any num- ber. It is not considered good form to have more tlian four aces in any one Iiand. LITERATURE OF THE DAY A NEW BOOK BY P. SMITH " Ice-cream and Cherries " by P. Smith, is a book well worthy the perusal of— of — others I Mr. Smith's brill- iant style here eclipses itself, also its author, likewise its reader, as, for instance, in the following lines : " Life," says P. S., " is chiefly made up of three things. Game Club, Ice-cream, and Cherries." That no household can afford to lose these gemlets and many more of like and unlike nature will be readily appreciated by the intelli- gent reader. It ?s a book for the young, a book for the old, the gray-haired and green-eyed alike, as well as all other idiots who will pay $1.50 in cash. THE WOMAN'S OWN PAGE USEFUL HOUSEHOLD RECIPES To my Dear Shut-ins : There are so many odds and ends, dear sisters, that we carelessly throw in the trash-basket that if we only knew what to do with them how much prettier our homes would be. For instance, sardine-cans could be tastefully gilded, lined with some pretty colored silk left over from our last '"^ .r's bonnet, and with a bow of some contrasting shade tied round the half-open cover, could be made the receptacle of hair-pins, playing-cards, ^ l Newspaper 39 toothpicks, or the like. Or an old starch-box, neatly covered with carpet, would greatly add to our comfort as a foot-rest. Save your tomato-cans ; they are useful in a thousand ways. Take a soap-box for the cover and add four legs made of tomato-cans carefully wired together ; then, with an exquisite cover of fine linen and ribbon tastefully tied so as to hide the legs, what better five-o'clock tea-table could one improvise? Why not take an old can that once held peas, burnish it up, and use it on this self-same table for a spoon-holder ? 1 have no doubt, my dear sisters, that I could give you many more useful ideas, but the time is limited and we shall have to wait for another two weeks before 1 can tell you how very useful your husband's high silk hats are as trash-baskets, the gridirons as catch-alls, and many more such trifles. With every wish for your success, I am, faithfully yours, Ei'.ZA Ann. OUR COSEY CORNER /I STORY Mr. La Grange was sitting at his desk one cold,t as- tering day in June ; his thought!, were far away. Run- ning his slender fingers through his dark-brown curls he turned again to his work with a sigh. He was weary, very weary of the cold, cold, unappreciative world. He was an artist, and his work had not met with the favor which his soul craved. He called his ofllce-boy to his side with these words : " George, the Game Club meets ■ • ! .1 m li u m '■■-I 30 The Booh of Games at my house, the dining-room ceiling has fallen, the baby is ill, and I prefer death to going home," and, pressing a dollar into his hand, he disappeared. (To be continued.) ADVERTISEMENTS Wanted — A girl to do sewing. Must bring her own machine; must understand new sleeves and use of fibre chamois; must be expert on boys' knees and trousers. Will pay $5.00 per day and no questions asked. No type- writers need apply. Address, P. D. Q., Excelsior office. « « « Wanted— Naval recruits. The United States Navy wants recruits and wants them bad. Applicants must be between the ages of one and a hundred, vouched for by someone who knows them, but need not expect to ship if subject to " whooping-cough." They will proba- bly be required to go out of sight of land, and if they die en route will be buried at sea. It is not necessary to know how to swim. Come one, come all ! Bring your friends and spread the news. Good pay, good grub, and Uncle Sam to look after you I « # « TOTHERL/fND'S DOG RENOVATOR For Restoring Hair to Mangy Curs IVarranted to raise a beautiful furry coat on skins pn- viously as smooth as a marble-topped wasbstaud. Suitable also for Bald Heads no cure, no pay The following letter, from a distinguished citizen of this metropolis, speaks volumes : Sequels to Mother Goose's Rhymes 31 X. Y. TOTHERLAND, ESQ., Proprietor of Totberland's Dog Renovator. Dear Str : Being afflicted with a scarcity of hair at an early age I was induced to try your preparation by an advertisement in Excelsior. After using only eighteen bottles I find a marked improvement in my hirsute attachment, so much so as to cause remarks of admira- tion from my friends. I have also been quite successful with my large Mexican hairless dog. After applying half a bottle of your valuable compound the hair grew on him so thickly that he has been mistaken for a Saint Bernard and is a great terror to burglars. You are at liberty to use this letter. Faithfully yours, I. M. Bauld. * » * Situation Wanted by a young man to tend hens. Cm whistle. ^ m-1 lli! XIV Sequels to Mother Goose's Rhymes Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of foolscap paper as there are players ; Mother Gooseys Nursery Rhymes y a prize. A rhyming game with plenty of " go " in it Is given below. Before your guests arrive take as many sheets of paper as there are to be guests; at the top of each sheet write i-i 1, ,\ i. ■ ■ i ; ■ > - ' ;t lii y i 32 The Book of Games the last stanza of a nursery rhyme, a different one on each paper. For example : " He put in his thumb And pulled out a plum, And said, ' What a good boy am 1.* " You will doubtless need a copy of Mother Goose to refer to. When the guests have ar- rived a pencil and one of the papers with a verse at the top are given to each, and they are told that th*^ point of the game is to write a sequel to the nursery rhyme each will find on his paper, the time allowed being half an hour. When this is done the papers are collect- ed and the verses read aloud. A prize for the best rhyme may be given by a committee on awards, chosen from among the players. Here is an example : SEQUEL TO " LITTLE JACK HORNER " «' Jack, little sinner, After that dinner Eaten alone, on the sly — Was ill of remorse And dycpepsia, of course. Did he take soda-mint— or just die?" sk. Three Rhyming Games 33 ': XV Three Rhyaiing Games Endless amusement and infinite variety are to be found in rhyming games. Tlie hostess has only to provide pencils and paper, with perhaps a prize, and her guests will do the rest. Three games of this kind are here given. NUMBER ONE Materials Required : As many slips of paper and pencils as there are players j a prize ^ if desired. The players, being provided with pencils and slips of paper, take seats in an irregular circle around the room. Each person is then asked to write a noun at the top of his paper, fold it back and hand it to his right-hand neighbor, who writes a question and passes the papei again to the right — to a player who is asked to write a stanza or more of poetry (!) containing the noun at the top of the paper and answer- ing the question written below it. Fifteen minutes is the time allowed, and when time is 'I!?:;! 34 The Book of Games 1 up the rhymes are collected and read aloud. For example : Noun— Game Club. Question— Where is your Sun- day coat ? *' Since Sunday coat and weekday coat are all the same to me, And tailors fierce besiege my house and seek their cash to see, The only chance to foil their schemes is then— ah, there's the rub — To wear my coat both night and day and to our great Game Club I " Second example : Noun— Potato. Question— Where am I at ? " An illustrious poet, philosopher, sage, named Plato, Was out on a * bat,' He slipped on a vegetable— common potato— And sat, saying, • Where am I at ? '" NUMBER TWO Materials Required : Twice as many slips of papery three inches by half an inch^ as there are players; as many pencils and sheets of foolscap paper as there are players ; two bowls or card- trays. When the players are seated in a circle each one receives two slips of paper and a pencil Three Rhyming Games 35 and is asked to write on one slip a noun and on the otlier a verb. Two wis or trays are then passed around the circi. ; into one every player puts a noun and into the other a verb. Again the bowls are passed and /ery player takes a slip from each bowl. Sheets of foolscap paper are then dealt out, one apiece, to the players, and each is asked to write a rhyme containing the noun and the verb which he drew. Example : Noun— Trolley-car. Verb— Fly. " Upon a trolley-car last week A timid motor-man Was hit upon his toughened cheek With brick-bat, rock, and can. " He was a * scab ' from Jersey's shores Thus hit upon the fly, No more he'll do another's chores Until he minds his eye." 111' ! h NUMBER THREE Sheets of paper are provided, one for each player, and on every one is written a subject for a poem with the last word of each line. f-'l 36 The Booh of Games making a skeleton poem, with the rhymes ready-made, in this way : AN ODE TO TENNIS play slay court fought .... say day racket jacket For fifteen minutes everyone thinks and writes, and at the end of that time the papers are collected and the verses read. For ex- ample : AN ODE TO TENNIS O, watch the sylph-like Percy play, His victims on the ground to shy. He chases them around the court, The scene of many a battle fought. " He ain't no good," I hear you say ; " He plays still worse from day to day.'* The reason is that many a racket Causes his wife to dust his jacket. iS id rs Fan-ball 37 XVI Fan-ball Materials Required: Two palm-leaf fans ; c.e sheet of red and one sheet of blue paper ^ quite stiffs a prize. Two balls, one of red paper and one of blue, are required, each being made of three flat intersecting pieces of paper : No. I. No. 2. No. 3. Having cut three circles three and a half inches in diameter, or four times the size of those in the diagram, cut slits according to the straight lines in the diagram, and number the circles 1, 2, and 3 as indicated. Now, taking No. 1 in your left hand, slide it through the long middle slit in No. 2, and it will be caught and held by the small slits at either side of No. 1. The cross-cuts in No. 3 allow that i^M 1'; ; \' A s 38 The Book of Games circle to fit over and bisect the other two, thus completing the skeleton ball. A goal is made at each end of the room where the game is to be played by placing two chairs or hassocks a yard apart ; a chair is also placed at an equal distance from each goal and in the centre of the room. When your guests have all arrived two ptains should be chosen, who in turn choose sides until the party is equally divided. The red ball and a palm-leaf fan are given to one team and the blue ball and a fan to the other, and each takes pos- session of a goal. Two players at a time con- test, one from each side, and the game is played in this way : Each player stands in front of his goal, his paper ball before him; at the word of com- mand from the umpire, previously selected, tach fans his ball in the direction of his oppo- nent's goal. The balls must go through the chair in the centre of the room, and the player who first sends his ball through this chair and then through his opponent's goal is the win- ner, and another pair of players begin the game afresh. When all have played, the team Intercollegiate Foot-ball 39 which has won the mo^t times receives as a prize a box of candy, bouquet of flowers, or something divisible among the members of the team. It must be remembered in playing this game that it is not allowable to touch the ball, it should be propelled only by the breeze from the fan. XVII Intercollegiate Foot-ball Materials Required : Two eggs ; one-fourth of a yard of the narrowest medium-blue ribbon ; one fourth of a yard of narrowest orange ribbon ; half a yard of narrowest black ribbon y one-fourth of a yard of narrowest white ribbon ; one-eighth of a yard, an inch wide, of medium-blue ribbon ; one-eighth of a yard, an inch wide, of orange rib- bon ; six small sticks as long as a lead-pencil and abotU one-fourth as thick ; two wooden spools; one piece of white chalk. Foot-ball is always exciting — on the field, from the grand stand, and in the newspapers. It is even exciting on a table if played in a realistic way— as is possible if you will follow these directions : Take two raw eggs and blow I i! U ". \ l-i! : I ixA 1 '1;; I !■ I in f-1 ' T'Tt IJ 40 The Booh of Games them by making a small hole at each end and blowing through one hole until all the inward- ness of the tgg has been forced into a cup at the opposite end. When this has been done and the perfect shells remain, paint the eggs, or ratlier the shells, as nearly leather-color as possible with water-color paints. When they are dry draw with pen and ink the sections and lacing, so as to make them look as much as possible like real foot-balls. Next take an eighth of a yard each of medium-blue and orange ribbon, one inch wide, and one -fourth yard each of narrowest white and black rib- bon. Sew this narrow ribbon, the white in a Y on the blue ribbon, and the black in a P on the orange. Make two small sticks for these flags and you will have a prize ready for the winning team, whichever it may be. Your labors are not over, however, for the goal- posts are still to be made, but that is an easy matter. Saw two spools in halves, paint them black with ink or ivory-black, and you have the stands for your posts; then make four posts of the size to fit in the holes in the spool stands and about 3ix inches long. Sew at the Intercollegiate foot-ball 41 top of one pair two Yale-blue pennants, made of strips of narrowest blue ribbon, and on the other pair two Princeton pennants of black and orange narrowest ribbon. Now on a dark felt table-cover, or even on the top of a dark wood table, mark out the lines of the "gridiron," or foot-ball field, placing the Yale goal-posts at one end and the Princeton at the other. When your guests arrive two of the number are chosen captains, one of the Yale and the other of the Princeton team. These captains then choose sides, and when all are ranged back of the goal-posts on their own sides the game begins. The ball is placed in the centre of the field and chance decides which side shall put it in play. This is done by the whole team, or by one or more players chosen by the captain, blowing the ball toward their opponent's goal. Each side can blow but once at a time, so the opposing side now takes its turn, and the foot -ball is blown back and forth until one side sends it through its opponent's goal, when that side scores six points and the foot- ball goes back to the centre. At the end of half an hour time is called and the flag of his ?,!:i ii lil ■i \ i:'i T !i \'^- % \ J I . \^ ii ill *] 42 The Book of Games college, on the pole of which may be strung an egg-shell foot-ball, is given to the winning captain ;js a trophy. XVIII Parodies Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players ; a prize. In this game each person is required to write A parody on some well-known poem selected by the hostess. Pencils and paper are given to the players and a subject for all to write on is then announced ; also the title of the poem to be parodied. Half an hour should be al- lowed for the players to write their verses, and then all the papers are collected and read aloud by one of the compatiy and a prize for the best may be given. Here is an example : Poem—" Hiawatha." Subject— The New Woman. In the land of the Dakotas, Where the lodges of the red men Were the only habitations, In the days of Hiawatha; an tig nd ite ed en on im al- nd ud est Bouquet Where the squaws in wigwams toiling, Cooking for the dozing warriors, For the painted, red-skin warriors, Lived and died and lie iorgotten, Comes a strange, uncanny figure — On a bicycle 'tis riding, Clad in bloomers, tailor-made ones. To Dakota comes this object What f J white men call New Woman. Ghoit of lovely Minnehaha, Dost thou see this new production ? Gaze and wonder, Minnehaha I 43 XIX Bouquet Materials Required : Sheets of colored tis^ sue-paper of light yellow, orange, ; • te-color, red, light and dark violet, deep crimson^ purple, light and dark blue, and white, two of each y also a fourth as many sheets of light and dark green tis- sue-paper as there are players ; as many slips of paper as there are players ; one spool of fine wire, such as tissue-paper manufacturers sell ; No. S needles and No. 70 white and black cotton j one bottle of mucilage ; at least one-third as many pairs of scissors as there are players^ iA ■ 1 ! i ' ''■ \% 11. til 44 The Book of Games s As the guests arrive each one receives a slip of paper on which is written the name of a flower. When all have come and are ready to begin, the hostess gives to each person a sheet of tissue-paper of the color needed to make the flower written on each slip — or, if more than one color is needed, half a sheet of each color will be enough— with one-fourth each of light and dark green. Twenty minutes, it is announced, is the time allowed for all to make one or more of the flowers assigned to them. Each person should have a needle and thread, and, if possible, the whole party should be seated around a table, or several small tables, for convenience in working. The scissors, wire, and mucilage may be used in common. When the time is up the hostess collects the flowers and a committee of four players, two ladies and two gentlemen, decides which is the most natural and perfect flower, and to the maker of this flower the whole bouquet is given by way of a prize. Suggestions for Flowers : Wild rose, violet, daisy, tulip, sweet-pea, buttercup, chrysanthemum, pansy, lily, nasturtium, bachelor's button, poppy, carnation, gera- Mirth 45 nium, dandelion, aster, primrose, marigold, orchid, daffodil, arbutus. XX Mirth Materials Required : A prize. When you have played this game you will perhaps wonder at its name and may rechris- ten it mirthless merriment. The leader should be a person with a contagious laugh. He is provided with an ordinary white handkerchief, which, when the players have formed a circle around him, he throws into the air. At this signal everyone must laugh as heartily as pos- sible until the handkerchief touches the floor, when if there is one or more of the players who is still laughing he must drop out of the magic circle. The leader will need to be very aleri, as he must catch the player in the act of laughing or smiling before he can lawfully dis- miss hiii^, from the circle. When all but one player have been obliged to drop out, the prize is given to that person. ■jlin ,v V^ S m ;i J 46 The Book of Games XXI Vice Versa Materials Required : Ten crockery buttons for each gentleman ; as many pieces of cloth, six by six inches, as there are gentlemen ; three spools of No. so cotton ; paper of No. y needles j as many thimbles as there are gentlemen ; two pieces of wood, one and one -half feet by six inches and aboui two inches thick ; two papers of small tacks s two tack-hammers ; two prizes for lady and gentleman , To the average person masculine sewing on buttons is about as impossible as driving tacks is to the average person feminine, and as this game is really a compeiition in whicli the gentlemen strive to see which can sew on the most buttons in a given time and the ladies which can drive the most tacks, it will readily appear why the game is a lively and absorbing one. There should be a referee appointed, be- fore the game begins, to judge in the ladies' contest, and one for the gentlemen, to settle all disputes and also to keep time. The ladies begin two at a time, as in a yice yersa 47 % tournament, standing one on each side of a table ; before each is a piece of board, a table- spoonful of tacks, and a hammer. At a given signal each begins hammering tacks into her board and continues for five minutes, when the referee counts each lady's tacks and credits her with the number she has hammered into the board. Another pair now take their turn (the tacks are drawn out after each pair has fin- ished), and so on till all the ladies have ham- mered tacks for five minutes, when the one who drove the greatest number in the given time receives a prize, and now, their trials over, they may become spectators of the gentlemen's efforts. A piece of cotton cloth, six by six inches, a needle and a piece of thread, a thimble, and ten buttons, are given to each gentle- man and they are all asked to do the best they can toward threading their needles and sewing their allowance of buttons on the piece of cotton. Fifteen minutes may be allowed, and at the end of that time a prize is given to the one who has sewed the most buttons on his piece of cotton. '! :|lfn ■.!■ i ■f; ! ' i;i i 1 I I 48 The Booh of Games '•■ il^H XXII Progressive Puzzles Materials Required : As ma. y blank paste* board cards^ two and one-half inches square, as there are guests ; several pairs of scissors j a prize. The simplicity of this game is its great at- traction, and it is as successful as it is simple. It is only necessary to provide as many small square cards as there are guests, several pairs of scissors, and a prize, if you like, and the game is ready. The party should be seated in a circle around the room ; each one then re- ceives a card, and every third or fourth play- er a pair of scissors, which he shares with his neighbors. It is announced that each player is to cut his card twice across so as to make four pieces. The cuts should be straight and must intersect each other, but they may go in any direction, and after the first cut the pieces should be held together till the second cut has been made. Each player now mixes up his four pieces and passes them to his right-hand neighbor. i*^. 't?:'- ♦ >:ij Eye-guessing 49 At a signal everyone tries to put the four- part puzzle which he has received together, and the first player who succeeds calls out that he has finished, when all must stop and pass the puz- zles to the right again. The successful player is credited with a mark on the tally kept by the host or leader. The game then goes on as before until the time limit of half an hour is up, when the person who has most marks to his credit receives a prize. Much of the suc- cess of this game depends upon the ingenuity used in cutting up the cards, the object, of course, being to make as difficult a puzzle as possible for one's neighbor to put together. i i .ti XXllI Eye-guessing Materials Required: As mauy sheets of paper and pencils as there are players ; a sheet or screen, in which slits may be cuts a large handkerchief; a candle in a candlestick. A sheet having been hung in a doorway be- tween two rooms, half of the guests go behind this curtain. 1 he room where the rest of the il ti^ i ''t i 1 t H ( 1 i 1 i All; 50 The Book of Games party is must then be darkened. In the sheet or screen small holes should be cut, of the size and shape of eyes. There should be eight of these, each pair at the proper distance apart for a pair of eyes to look through, and at varying heights from the floor. This should be prepared beforehand if the hostess wishes to save time. The players behind the screen now choose four of their number to look through the hoks, while the players in front are allowed, one at a time, to take a lighted candle and inspect each pair of eyes, guessing to whom they belong. Then there is another set of eyes to guess, until all behind the screen have had their eyes shown, when the sides change places and the guessers become the guessed. For convenience in recording the guesses made, each of the players should have a sheet of paper and pencil, the paper arranged in this way: FIRST GROUP No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 . The Objective Library 51 SECOND GROUP No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 THIRD GROUP No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 As the players guess each pair of eyes, they can write the names on a line with these num- bers according to the order in which the eyes were examined; and at the end, the papers may be corrected from a true list kept behind the curtain, and a prize awarded to the person who recognized most eyes. XXIV The Objective Library Materials Required: As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players ; a prize. This game is simply taking titles of books and representing them by arrangements of % ?! »'■ 11 ll ($ V). .\ *• • \% Ifti 52 The Book of Games various objects. The groups may be arranged on a table and each numbered with a small card, the numbers being repeated on the left- hand side of sheets of paper. Each player is provided with one of these papers and a pen- cil. The game begins when all of the players are admitted to the room where the " library " is spread upon the table, and should last about twenty minutes. In this time the players try to solve as many of the problems as possible, for the one who guesses the most titles in the given time receives a prize. The following are a few suggestions for titles, with the objects needed to represent them : " Essay on Man." — A picture of a man (cut from any illustration), on which is laid a large S and an A. "Measure for Measure."— A pint-measure, around which is twined a tape-measure. " The Spy." — A telescope. "The Rose and the Ring."— -A rose drawn through a ring. "The Coming Race." — A newspaper-clipping about some future yacht or horse race. " Nicholas Nickleby."— A five-cent piece, to the right of which is laid the word "as"; then another five-cent piece, followed by the word " by." "Ivanhoe" (I've an O).— A child, cut from an illus- The Objective Library 53 tration, holding up a large O, which may be pasted on the child's hand. " Never T...O Late to Mend." — A clock, stopped at twelve o'clock, with a torn glove, needle, thread, and thimble lying in front of it. Lamb's " Tales."— A number of tails, made of cotton- wool. " Bittersweet."— A box of quinine pills with a stick of candy lying on it. " Rudder Grange." — A picture of a rudder, followed by one of a long, low house. Several variations of this game may be played. For instance, instead of books, famous men may be represented : Plato.— By a plate, on which is laid the letter 0. Socrates. — A gentleman's sock, re in the musical scale, and several sample packages of teas. Gladstone.— A picture of a laughing girl with a small stone beside it. Carnot.— A toy car with a slip of paper, on which is the word " No," laid on top. Mark Twain.- -By two straight lines on a piece of paper. Another way of playing this game is to represent cities : 1. A bag on which is pinned a piece of paper bearing these words : " What a disrespectful boy calls his father." Answer: Bagdad. I. if 'i •■ rn r ' ;■' i^;' 54 The Booh of Games 2. A sweet-pea pinned to a slip of paper with " Near relatives " on it. Answer : Pekin. 3. On an empty can is laid a slip of paper with " 2,000 lbs." written upon it. Answer : Canton. 4. A burr pinned to a slip with " A city in Massachu- setts " on it. Answer : Berlin. 5. "A vegetable growth on Hawthorne's Concord home that he found profitable; " this sentence to be fol- lowed by the picture of a coiv. Answer : Moscow. 6. A glass in which is a paper with these words on it : " To depart." Answer : Glasgow. 7. " Where Henry VIII. was going when he divorced Katherine of Arragon." Answer : Havana. 8. These sentences on a paper : " Not wanted in Russia," " The French for street," and " The home of witches." Answer: Jerusalem. 9. " Part of Trilby's foot " and " An exclamation ; " these two sentences on a slip of paper, with a key laid between them. Answer : Tokio. XXV Initials Materials Required: Apriz\ A list of the names of some celebrated per- sons should be prepared beforehand in this way. The name is written at the left of the Initials 55 paper, and on the same line, to the right, a characterization of two or more words is writ- ten suggestive of the name it follows and beginning with its initials in regular order. For example : Abraham Lincoln Absolutely Loyal Robert Louis Stevenson Rare Loving Spirit William Shakespeare Worth Studying William Makepeace Thackeray. .Wit; Much Tenderness Edgar Allan Poe Extravagant and Peculiar David Livingston Delayed Long Richard Steele Rare Scapegrace Louis Agassiz Loved Animals H. B. Stowe Her Books Sell Mark Twain Makes Travesties H. M. Stanley He Made Search Louisa M. Alcott Left Many Admirers Christopher Columbus Conquering Cruiser Ralph Waldo Emerson Really Worth Emulating William Ewart Gladstone Who's England's Glory ? Mary Stuart Many Schemes Charles Reade Clever Romancer Oliver Wendell Holmes Oh, What Humor Thomas Carlyle Terribly Caustic Charles Dickens Cherished Deservedly The lines are then cut across so as to leave one name and its accompanying sentence on li ^n \A •■'.' m 56 The Book of Games each slip. When the guests have arrived and are seated around the room, the host or leader reads the short descriptive phrases aloud, one at a time, and the person who first guesses the name of the character referred to receives the slip. At the end of the game a prize is given to the player who has won the most slips. XXVI Auction Materials Required : Twenty or more arti- cles of all sizes and .'.hapes, mostly cheap toys, all wrapped and tied tip attractively ; as many cata- logues of the articles (in which they are called by fictitious names) as there are players ; thirty beans in an envelope for each player ; as many pencils as there are players. One of the merriest of games is here given, and although it may at first appear difficult to prepare, it really will fully repay one for the amount of trouble taken. Your local toy and confectionery shop will furnish plenty of ma- terial in the way of penny toys and candies, and the m.ore absurd and childish these are the more fun their appearance will make as they Auction 57 come to light in the progress of the auction. For this game is an auction, with a real or ama- teur auctioneer, twenty or more articles well wrapped in white paper, and your guests for bidders. Each person receives a catalogue or list of the articles, in disguise (that is in a kind of conundrum, as shown in the example given below), and an envelope containing thirty beans. The bidding begins as soon as the guests have all arrived, are seated, and have received their money and catalogues and a pencil apiece, and continues until all the articles have been auc- tioned oflF. Here, for example, is a catalogue, with the real things indicated in each case in parentheses : SPECIAL AUCTION SALE BY ORDER OF SHERIFF 1. A Masterpiece— Whistler (a whistle). 2. Study of a Head (a cabbage). 3. Clothes-press (a toy iron). 4. Irish Bric4-brac (potato). 5. Japanese Shield, Paragon Frame (small Japanese parasol). 6. Patent Skirt-lifter (chocolate mouse). 7. A Pennyworth of Solace (clay pipe). 8. Woman's Multum in Parvo (hairpins). ' If' 1 I "li; :i • 'I / I 5 ; ' i i 58 The Book of Go s->'>«"-l 9. A Marble Bust (cracked marble). 10. Reminder of an Impecunious Friend (sponge). 11. Emblem of Justice (scales). 12. Lubin's Tear Extract (onion). 13. Fin de Si&cle Natatorium (toy bath-tub). 14. Profanity Educators (hammer and tacks). 1 5. Several Pairs of Nippers (clothes-pins). 16. Ode to a Sitting Hen (china egg). 1 7. A Pair of Blacklegs (doll's rubber boots). 18. A Perfect Foot, \ la Trilb • (foot-rule). 19. Maid of Orleans (stick of molasses candy). 20. Modern Instrument of Torture (toy banjo). XXVII Commerce Materials Required: Two packs of playing- t$trds ; fifty beans for each player s two -f'^-izes. To play this game successfully it is quite necessary to have among your guests a clever amateur auctioneer or some gentleman who does not object to talking a good deal, and is quick and amusing. If you can find such a person the success of the game is assured. The players should be seated around a table, each with his capital of fifty beans be- Commerce 59 fore him. Two packs of playing-cards are then brought in and the auctioneer holds a sale of one pack, selling one card at a time to the highest bidder, who pays for it in beans. When the pack has all been sold, the players arrange their cards and beans on the table before them and prepare for business. Announcement is made by the auctioneer that he will begin by holding the second pack of cards in his hand and will turn up one at a time, as he does so calling the name of the card, and the player who has the duplicate of it among his cards must surrender it to the auctioneer. After the calling of each card there is an interval of three minutes for buying and selling among the players. As the object is either to secure more beans than anyone else, and so win a prize at the end of the game, or to possess the card matching the one at the bottom of the auctioneer's pack, for which another prize is given, the three-minute intervals are very ex- citing, especially when the pack in the auc- tioneer's hand grows very thin ; then anxious speculators often give their whole store of beans to buy one card, which perhaps matches 't' \ « I pi j.; .: 1 '■;:li \ it T 60 The Book of Games the next one turned up by the auctioneer, and so thev lose everything in a moment in a realistic Wall Street way. XXVIII Stray Syllables Materials Required: As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players ; a prize. It is surprising how often the same syllable is used in different words. If you would like to prove this and at the same time entertain a party of people, play the following game. Ask each player to write several words on a long strip of paper, leaving spaces of about half an inch between the syllables of the different words. When this is done, cut out the sylla- bles, shuffle all together, and let each person draw three syllables. The party should be seated around a table, and each player tries with the three syllables, or with two of the three belonging to him, to construct a word. Each player tries in turn, and if it is impossible to make a word from his syllables he must re- Babv Show 6i turn two to the pack and wait until his turn comes ai^ain, when he may draw two more syllables and try again. If a prize is provided for the person con- structing the most words, an allowance of time, say twenty minutes, should be made, and the player who in that time has the most words to his credit receives a prize. XXIX Baby Show Materials Requirkd : As many pencils and sheets of paper or small blank-books, for cata- logues, as there are players ; two prizes. Almost everyone has a tin-type or photo- graph to which to point in pride or humility, saying, "That was my picture as a baby." If you are planning an evening of games, ask all of your guests to bring the earliest pictures of themselves and you will have the material for a thoroughly interesting as well as amusing game. Each guest brings his or her picture wrapped r ■ M\ 1^ |l : , i • ! m^ 62 The Book of Games in paper, and with the name on the outside, and hands it to the hostess. While other games are being played these pictures may be artisti- cally arranged on tables in an adjoining room ,• or, if a more elaborate exhibition is desired, the owners may b asked beforehand to bring their pictures framed. In this case the hostess provides dark hangings, against which the pict- ures can be effectively grouped. All are num- bered, as at a gallery, and catalogues, more or less elaborate, may be provided, with pencils, for all the guests. Only the numbers of the pictures may appear, and these are written at the left side of the page — no names to tell who the originals of the pictures are or were. The guests are asked to guess the names and write their guesses against the numbers. Each also writes his or her vote as to which is the prettiest picture of a bi.':y, and when all have guessed and voted and signed their names to their catalogues, the catalogues are collected and corrected and prizes are awarded to the one who has guessed the names of the most babies and to the original of the prettiest baby or child picture, as decided by the most votes \ t Palette 63 11' > BB.t cast for any one. The prizes, to be really ^" propriate, should be toys, rubber rattles, balls, or packages of infant's food. XXX Palette Materials Required : As many small paste- board palettes and pencils as there are players ; as many large sheets of paper ^ about twenty-two by eighteen inches ^ as there are players j four thumb- tacks j an easel J as many slips of paper as there arc players j colored chalks or crayons ^ two each of blue, red, and black ; two prizes. An easel holding a drc^wini' -board (to which the large sheets of paper hav ' previously been fastened with thumb-tacks) is set up in a prominent place, and the players draw their chairs into a semicircle around it. To each player is given a small •);:steboard palette which has been decorated with paint in the conven- tional way, or as an artist's palette is sup- posed to look when " set up " with neat patches of paint in five or six colors follow- ing the outline of the palette. These are, of ^^l: i 1 ; 1 ■lii • i \ s ii i P n '^i' I 64 The Book of Games course, dry, as the palettes are only for use as lists. On the reverse side are numbers, as many as players, one below the other, and following the outline of the palette, while in the centre of the painted side of each is a number — the one assigned to the player to whom the palette is given. The host now begins the game by calling No. 1, who comes to the easel and then re- ceives a s;'p of paper upon which he finds written the title of a song, old or new ; this he is requested to illustrate upon the board before him, using crayons or chalk of blue, red, and black. All the others try to guess what song their companion has tried to picture, and write their guesses opposite his number on their palettes. The drawing is now taken down and another person is called upon until all in turn have drawn pictures, when the palettes are col- lected by the host, and the owner of the one upon which there art the most correct guesses receives a prize. A prize also may be given to the artist whose title has been guessed by the greatest number of personSo China Painting 65 XXXI China Painting Materials Required : Half as many slips of paper as there are players j half as many small y undecoraied china cups and saucers as there are players ; as many comtnon paint-brushes as there are players ; one- half pint of turpentine / one tube each of blacky yellow y blucy and red oil-paints ; as many small cotton cloths as there are players ; prizes for lady and gentleman. To entertain successfully a party of people for half an evening nothing could be better than this game. Each gentleman on arriving draws from a bowl a slip of paper, and finds written thereon the name of the lady who is to be his partner for the game. Every pair re- ceives a cup and saucer, a common white plate, in lieu of a palette, with a little oil-paint of four colors (black, yellow, red, and blue) upon it, two paint-brushes, and two soft cloths. It is then requested that every pair of players shall decorate their cup and saucer (the lady the cup and the gentleman the saucer) with a design of their own. The time allowed may be ifel V : \ ■' III - i i| j \ 66 The Book of Games half an hour or longer, as the hostess decides. The turpentine will only be needed to wash out mistakes, or, if used at all for mixing, very little is needed to thin the paint. If this game is played in a room where the furniture is very beautiful and costly, it would be well to have the players seated around a large table with an unspoilable covering, but even without this precaution, if ordinary care is taken, there need be no accidents to furni- ture or clothing. When all the china is deco- rated it is arranged artistically on a table, and a committee on awards decides on the cup and saucer most worthy of the prizes. XXXII Shadow Pictures Materials Required : One large sheet for a curtain ; one lamp givmg a strong lights or clec- trie light J properties according to the pictures given. These pictures are so amusing that although they require a little more preparation than !•■ Shadow Pictures 67 most games, they are worth the additional trouble. The first thing to provide is a sheet, large enough to fill the space between folding- doors or any double doorway between two rooms. Secure the sheet to the frame of the doorway with small tacks, stretching it so that there will be no folds or creases. Just before the performance begins the sheet should be wet evenly with a sponge and clear water, this will make the shadows sharper and more dis- tinct. The room where the audience is seated should be darkened, and the only light in either room should be a lamp with a strong, steady flame; or in houses lighted by electricity it would be easy to have an incandescent light arranged back of the sheet-screen. The light being placed about six feet behind the centre of the sheet, the performers should play their parts between it and the sheet — as near to the latter as practicable without touch- ing it. The side of the head must alway: be presented toward the curtain, as the profile only is effective in shadow. The shoulder farthest from the curtain should be most care- fully managed, as it can easily make an p- l\ P 1 i j ^1 if! :>■>■*' I 1*. 68 The Booh of Games r f ( i i pearance like a lump on the breast or shoul- ders of the performer. The facial expres- sions in shadow are very limited — there is hardly a movable portion of the face ex- cept the lower jaw — but false noses may be made of pasteboard, splitting open the back edge sufficiently to allow the real nose to be inserted. The opportunities for emotional expression being so limited, shadow pictures must depend for success on a rapid succession of thrilling and absurd situations, all so exaggerated as to be unmistakable in their meaning. Two per- sons in apparent conversation should be care- ful to speak one at a time, each waiting for the other to finish his pantomime before re- plying tO it. Every action should be done de- liberately and distinctly, without huriy. All properties Fl.ould be under the exclusive con- trol of the i;' age-manager and should be laid on the floor or on a table in the order in which they will be needed. These propertie ■,, if small, may be cut from pa^ieboard, while the cos- tumes can be nsibnei of any old material and trimmed with i^.p^r. For example: . !; i\ J'^^'' m Shadow Pictures 69 A suggestion for sliadow pictures is to act poems in pantomiine as the words are read aloud, clearly, behind the scenes. Whittier's " Maud Muller " is very funny when burlesqued in this way, the verses without action beii?g omitted. Maud is first seen in tattered gown, large hat, and hay-rake (the hay is newspaper cut in strips, and gloves stuffed and drawn over the actress's shoes give an absurd suggestion of bare feet). She sings and rakes in pantomime, and the " mock bird " (a lively looking fowl cut from pasteboard and perched on a branch which comes from the side of the door) " echoes from his tree." The Judge in cape, knickerbockers, and slouch hat now prances in on a hobby-horse, and Maud gropes in the hay, producing a bottle and tin cup, from which she gives him a draught, and he rides away. Next is seen the Judge's wife, " of richest dower," who passes before the curtain with a haughty expression and many furbelows. This is followed by the lines : " She wedded a man unlearned and poor, And many children played round her door." A string secured at one side of the doorway (and on which five or six dolls have been strung) is suddenly pulled frpm the opposite side, and the dolls dance merrily. Another very funny set of pictures may be taken from "Gentle Alice Brown," one of W. S. Gilbert's «' Bab Ballads." >. ) i Im I m': m WimLMl ^^ ! m 70 The Book of Games xxxni Silhouettes in Disguise Materials Required: One large sheet; a candle or lamp ; old hats, bonnets , masks, false noses, whiskers, and any other make-ups or cos- tumes. This game may be played in two ways. First, a sheet should be fastened to the wall at ore end of the room so that it is quite smooth and unwrinkled; near this one of the players seats himself on a !uw stool with his face toward the sheet. A table, on which is a lighted candle, should be placed about five feet behind him, and the rcrt of the lights in the room extinguished. Tl; a other players now disguise themselves witli ihe vario'v^s costumes and make-ups provided and pars b tween the seated player and the candle, disturdng their features and figures as much i»s possible, hop- ping, limping, etc., so ';s to make their shadows quite unlike their ufaal selves. The solitary player on the stool tries to guess to whom the shadows belong, and if he is correct the player whose shadow he recognizes takes his place. 1 '■^ mjat Would You do if- 71 One guess only is allowed for each shadow, and the gues:er must not turn his head either to the right or left to see who passes. The second way is this : The sheet is hung between two rooms separated by folding-doors or an arch. Half the players are chosen as actors and the other half as spectators. The room where the spectators are seated snould be quite dark, the other lighted from the back by a strong lamp or electric light. The actors go in the lighted room and dress themselves in the different costumes and disguises ; they then pose, one at a time, before the sheet, where the strong lighi will throw iheir silnouettes sharply on it, and the audience makes guesses as to whom each shadow belongs. An amus ing test in connectu n with this game is to have each actor in tun put out a hand from the side of the sheet aikl see if the audience can guess whose it is. XXXJV What would you do if- Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of foolscap paper as there are player ik- 1 . . ^1 ;■*■ 7a Book of Games i l Predicaments of the most trying and des- perate description are thouQ,ht out beforehand. These are then written on sheets of foolscap paper, one at the top of each sheet, and each person is provided with a pencil and one of the papers. All are asked to write below the pre- dicaments given to them their ideas of the best ways out of them, and when this is done, and the papers are collected, ahother's paper is given to each person U) be read aloud. For example : " Suppose you were dressing for a meeting of the Game Club and lost your only collar-button down the register, what would yoL do and what would you say ?" /inswer : " First, cuss ; second, run down cellar, dump the furnace fire, rake over the coals and ashes (cussing all the time). Failing to find the collar-button in the ashes, would then return and upbraid my wife for speaking to me just as 1 was adjusting the button, thereby causing me to lose it. Also wonder why she always let the baby have my things to play with ; remark upon the number- less collar-buttons already swallowed by that omnivorous infant. Then cuss some more, and say that I was glad of it, that I always hated that cussed Game Club and was glad of an excuse to stay home. Then ask my wife what she was crying about and what I had done. Finally, find a collar-button which had mii'ptulously i] Songs for Several Singers 73 escaped the all-devouring baby, put it on, dress, po to the Game Club, have a bully time, and win first prize." XXXV Songs for Several Singers Materials Required: A prize. In writing your invitations your guests should be asked each to compose a song of three or more stanzas, to be sung to a familiar tune ; for example, " Marching Through Georgia" or " Rally Round the Flag, Boys! " and to bring their songs with them on the appointed even- ing. When the time comes and the guests have all arrived the songs are collected, and while one of the party plays the accompani- ment a group of tuneful members, gathered about the piano, sing each song in their best manner. If this is considered too easy, another method may be adopted, that of having each poet sing his own song ; but this has seemed to be rather too great a strain for the every-day person's amiabilitv. When all the songs have been sung, a committee of three of the guests, pre- ' i HI' '1 in ! S / 74 77;^ £ooA o/ Grtw^s viously appointed, decides upon the song most worthy of a prize. This game is especially appropriate in a club where the object is to acquire a Club Song to be sung at subsequent meetings. XXXVI Who am I? Materials Required • As many slip of paper as there are guests ; a first prize ; a booby prize. A character party, which is most amusing and comparatively new, can be given without costuming and with little or no work in pre- paring for it. After the arrival of the guests the hostess pins to the back of each a written slip of paper telling the name of the character he or she is meant to be. The only knowledge the players have as to the persons they repre- sent is gained from the comments of their friends ; from these each must guess the name of his or her character. As the opinions ex- pressed differ very widely, the guessing of one's character is often a difficult matter. The names of well-known actors, authors, politicians, mu* Sr, •i Location 75 sicians, characters in fiction, or local celebrities may be given. If desired, a prize may be awarded to the player who first guesses his character, as well as a booby prize for the last. XXXVII Location Materials Required : A prize. A game in which the geographical genius will shine comes from Boston, and is called Loca- tion. Two captains are chosen from among the players, and these in turn choose their sides until the party is equally divided. For con- venience it is well to seat the parties in two rows, facing each other. Chance decides which captain shall begin the game ; this he does by calling the name of a city or town, and then counting ten. Before he has finished counting his opposite opponent must locate the city or town, i '^ he has answered correctly he in turn calls the name of a place, and the second player in the opposite row must locate it before ten is counted. But should any player fail to answer Ml ^ t| t s i \ . \ h :l ./ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I IM 22 IM 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 < 6" ► V] . <\ 76 The Book of Games before ten is counted, or answer incorrectly, he or she must drop out, and when there is only one player left, on either side, that one gets the prize — and deserves it. XXXVIII FASHION Notes Materials Required : Half as many blank cards as there are players y as many pencils and sheets of paper (rough) as there are players j two boxes of common water-color paints ; half as many paint-brushes as there are playets ; two glasses of water ; two sheets of blotting-paper ; or^ in place of the paints^ two boxes of colored crayons s two prizes^ if desired. For this game cards are written beforehand, with the name of a fashion publication on each ; for example, " Harper's Bazar," " Godey's Magazine," "The Ladies' Home Journal," " Fashions," " Revue de la Mode," " Le Bon Ton," "L'Art de la Mode," " Demorest's Magazine," " The Young Ladies' Journal," "The Delineator," "The Style," "The Queen," " Ladies' Pictorial," etc. # t ■ ■■ '.W 1 n !l ^^ 86 Tae Booh of Games \4' 1 f-i'l ,t.-* XLIV Flags of all nations Materials Required : One sheet of hristol- board ; one box of water -color paints ; as many sheets of paper and pencils as there are players ; a first prize s a booby prize. It is a wise person who knows all the Ameri- can flags in use in the Army and Navy and in the Revenue Service, and when it comes to the flags of all nations the cleverest peo- ple are puzzled. A new game is based on this idea. In almost any atlas or gazetteer will be found a page of flags, colored truthfully and with the country each belongs to writ- ten underneath. Anyone who can draw at all, mechanically or otherwise, will find it an easy matter to copy these flags on a large sheet of bristol-board, substituting for the name of the country a number under each. The color- ing with water-color paints is easily done, as the bristol-board takes water-color very well. Sheets of paper numbered down the side, with as many numbers as there are flags, are given one to each player with a pencil. The card of VV Blockade «7 flags is then hung where all can see it, and half an hour is allowed for all to guess the coun- tries the flags belong to. At the end of the allotted time each signs his or her name to the list, and the papers are collected, a redistribution giving each player another's paper. The hostess then reads from a list previously prepared, No. 1 is the Ameri- can flag, No. 2 is the Union Jack, No. 3 is the Irish flag, etc., while all check off the correct guesses and mark the papers accordingly. A very pretty prize for the winner is a dainty silk American flag, and for the booby prize the painted card of flags may be given. 4 -ii! XLV Blockade Materials Required : Fifty or sixty miscel- laneous articles — children's toys, blocks, engines, rubber balls, dumb-bells, strangely shaped potatoes, clothes-pins, Halma or chess-men, bean-bags, and flat-irons ; two large, flat baskets ; a prize. Half the number of very much assorted arti- cles, say thirty, are heaped in a large basket at n 5' n -\.->- \*-'-''--.\ % . Mi 88 The Book of Games 1,11 ne ^ue of the room, with another pile of M. ':^ articles across the room in another large A^ket. Two captains choose sides until the players are equally divided, when the parties line up, one on each side of the room, with a basket at one end of the line ar,' ? chair at the other. The captain of each side is usually stationed next to the basket. At a signal the captain takes an article from the basket, passes it to the player next him, and as fast as possible, one after another, the articles are taken from the basket and passed down the line. The rule is that if any- thing is dropped it shall be passed back to the leader and started again. The player next the chair must pile the articles on it as fast as they come to him, without dropping one, and the side finishing first is the winner. At a party where this was played the captain of the winning side received a prize, and then a tray heaped with rosebuds was brought in and the flowers were divided among the play- ers of the winning side. V\V Domestic Architecture 89 XL VI Domestic Architecture Materials Required : As many hats and bonnets, old ones preferred, as there are gentlemen guests y trimmings for the same number of hats and bonnets — ribbons, feathers, and flowers, the older and gayer the better y or sheets of gayly col- ored tissue-paper, two for each hat or bonnet j two papers of pins s a first prize ; a booby prize. This game is very amusing and may be played by any number of persons. Tlie hats (feminine) and bonnets, as many as there are gentlemen guests, with trimmings for the same, must have been provided beforehand by the hostess, or she may ask each lady to bring one. On one table the pile of untrimmed hats is arranged and on another the trimmings. Each gentleman now selects a hat or bonnet from the collection, also trimmings and a row of pins. Fifteen minutes is the time allowed for trimming the hats, and then each gentleman puts on his own " creation." All form in line and pass before a committee of the ladies, who IH ^Ivi ( i ,' ' ■ li t' J* 90 The Book of Games decide which hat deserves the first prize. For the least successful a booby prize may be given. XLVII Blind Artists Materials Required : A black-board; white chalk J- an eraser; a large handkerchief; a first prize ; a booby prize. At the end of the room where the players are gathered a black-board is hung; or if you have one that will stand like an easel, so much the better. Ask each player in turn to walk up to the black-board, then blindfold him, give him a piece of chalk, and ask him to draw a picture of a pig. The other players must all look carefully and critically at each pig as it is drawn, for after all have finished a vote is taken as to who drew the best pig, and that person receives a prize. This is a good opportunity to give a funny prize in the shape of a pig; and a pig made of a lemon might be given to the one who made the worst drawing. v^.^ 1, y\ M 'a-:"^ -or be Buying Forfeits 91 XL VIII Buying Forfeits Materials Required : As many slips of paper and envelopes as there are players. As many forfeits as there are to be players in this game should be written beforehand on slips of paper. Each of these slips is enclosed in a sealed envelope, numbered on the outside. When the players are all seated in a semicircle the leader tells them that he is about to hold an auction of a collection of envelopes, each of which holds something costly. These enve- lopes with their contents will be sold to the highest bidders, and paid for in imaginary money (every player is supposed to have a hundred dollars capital), but no one can buy more than one. Moreover, the seals must not be broken until all the envelopes have been sold. The auction then begins and does not end until the last envelope has " gone," when the disappointment and dismay on the faces of the buyers as they discover what their purchases amount to, is a funny sight to see. The re- 'ti '^^ 1: !• « ' t i 1 f f i 1 'V 92 7ib^ fiooA of Games deeming of the forfeits follows in the order of the numbers on the envelopes. Suggestions for these penalties will be found in "Some Forfeits " at the end of the book. XLIX A Boy's Pockets Materials Required : One j)air of hofs knickerbockers ; fifteen to twetity articles usually found in a boy*s pockets ; as many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players j a prize ^ You first catch a boy — a plain, ordinary American boy — about the knickerbocker age, and having made sure that his pockets contain their usual and normal supply of miscellaneous articles, you borrow the knickerbockers and bestow them in a convenient place. The com- pany, having been supplied with pencils and sheets of paper, are requested each to write down the names of twenty articles most likely, in their judgment, to be found in a boy's pockets. This having been done the knickerbockers are produced, the pockets emptied, and the Personal Preference Pictures 93 articles found checked off on the lists. The lists may also be read separately to show the varying ideas of the guessers. The person guessing the most articles wins the prize. i m fk Personal Preference Pictures Materials Required : A black-board j white chalk j' a cloth or eraser j as many slips of paper as there are guests ; a prize. This game is a good one with which to begin an evening. As the guests arrive each receives a long slip of paper, folded so that the writing is inside, and having on it the name of the guest, with that of some object connected with a well-known hobby, or dislike, or joke relat- ing to the person who receives it. This must not be seen by anyone else. When all have arrived and are seated in a semicircle, a black- board is brought in and set up at one end of the room (or this may be done beforehand). The host then stations himself at the black- board and beginn'ng at one end of the semi- circle asks the players each in turn to come to ti^l I I n M ■ ■ ! ! \ I i!i ■ 1 i/4 The Booh of Games the blackboard and draw a picture illustrating the su''»ject on his or her slip of paper. The other players are to guess what they suppose the drawing is meant to represent, and the first person wno calls the subject correctly is cred- ited with one guess on a tally kept by the host. When all have niac!e their drawings the player who has the most guesses to his or her credit receives a prize. If, as sometimes hap- pens, there are t;vo or more persons who have guessed the greatest number, one of the other players is asked to draw a picture, choosing his own subject, and the first one of the win- ners who guesses this correctly takes the prize. LI Peanut Hunt Materials Required : One quart of pea- nuts; as many Japanese napkins as there are players j a prize. While 3'our guests are playing a game in one room, in another someone can hide a quart or more of peanuts in sight, that is, on the tops of pictures, in folds of curtains, on ml Zoological Game 95 clocks and bric-a-brac, high or low, wherever there is room for a peanut to rest. When the time comes for this game the players each re- ceive a Japanese napkin by way of a game- bag for the hunt. The doors are then thrown open and the game is not ended till every peanut has been found, when to the player who has the most is given a prize, as well as the peanuts he has found. LII Zoological Game Materials Required : One sheet of white cardboard ; half a dozen sheets of silhotiette- papcry black unglased on one side and white on the other (it may be bought at any wholesale paper store, and this quantity will be enough if there are not over twenty-five or thirty players) ; six pairs of scissors ; one bottle of miicilage j a lead -pencil and a sheet of white paper for each player, A sheet of cardboard is hung like a black- board at one end of the room. A piece of silhou- ette-paper, five by five inches, and a pencil are then given to each player. On the white side of each piece of paper are written the name of some ■ ■! • \ ! "J '1M 111* 96 The Book of Games '{ I B'M Is )! 1^ !i animal and the number of the player. The play- ers then draw pictures of the animals assigned them on the white sides of their paper, and cut them out. Time allowed, twenty minutes. When all are done the hostess collects the animals and pastes them on the white card- board, black side out, and numbers each ac- cording to the number of the player who made it. As many sheets of paper, with numbers down one side, as there are players are then dealt out, and each player must guess and write down opposite its number what animal he thinks each is meant to represent. The sheet of animals may be given as a prize to the player who guesses the largest number. Lill Conundrums Materials Required : Ten or twelve slips of paper ^ three by nine inches^ upon which conundrums are written; as many pencils as there are players. The leader provides ten or a dozen slips of paper, at the bottom of which he has written conundrums, one on each slip. The slips are •^ Compositions 97 passed to each person, in turn, who writes an answer to the conundrum at the head of the sheev, then turns the portion of the paper con- taining the answer back, so as to conceal the writing, and passes the slip to the next person. When all present have written answers to all the conundrums the slips are read and the correct answers announced. If preferred, each person may write a conundrum at the bottom of a slip instead of the leader doing so. LIV Compositions Materials Required: As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players s a prize. Each person is provided with a sheet of paper, at the top of which has been written a subject for a composition. This composition must be written after the school-boy fashion, and within a prescribed limit of time. The same subject may be given to all, or each may have a separate subject. When finished the papers may be collected and read, the most worthy {i.e., amusing) receiving a prize. m r. \ I1 I. .n i •f V 98 The Book of Games LV Broken Quotations Materials Required : Half again as many quotations as there are players, each written on a strip of paper and cut in two or more pieces ; a paper of pins ; a prize. The following has proved excellent for start- ing an evening of games. The hostess having prepared the quotations as already mentioned, pins the slips of paper on curtains, cushions, furniture, and picture-frames before the guests arrive. When everyone has come the purpose of the game is explained in this way. Each player is to find the beginning of a quotation among the slips of paper around the room ; and, having secured that, is required to find the next piece of it, and the next, until he has the whole. Then he starts with another in the same way. The game goes on until all the quotations have been taken, when the person who has the greatest number receives a prize. i Photograph IVhist 99 LVI PHOTOGRAPH WHIST . i IVI Materials Required graphs; a prize. A box of photo- In almost every family there is a collection of photographs, from the yellow and faded ones, dating back to grandmother's day, to the latest one of the newest baby. This collection will prove a treasure to the hostess looking for a new game. If possible, the players should be divided into two companies, to be seated around large tables. At each table one player is chosen dealer and umpire, and half of the photographs are given to him to deal around once, faces down. At a signal from the dealer all turn up their photographs, and the one who has the plainest picture takes the trick. As may be imagined, there is a great deal of amusing discussion be- fore the winner is decided upon ; but the um- pire gives the final decision, and the game goes on. The player who has won most tricks at • V ■ . If .»•' -!t <■ ]:■ ■i^ if i .■!•: lOO The Book of Gumes u the end of the game plays olT with the winner at the other table, each using the photographs he has won. An old print of some famous beauty makes a good prize for the successful player in this match. A delightfully clever, though plain, maiden lady is said to have invented this game, and when it was played at her house her pho- tograph invariably took the trick, much to her amusement I LVll Celebrities Materials Required : Two lart^e sheets of •white cardboard, 50 to "jo pictures of noted people; as many sheets of paper and pencils as there are players ; a prize. Almost everyone knows the sensation of being unable to call to mind the name of a noted person whose picture is perfectly famil- iar. This idea is the basis of a most success- ful game. The hostess, having collected from fifty to seventy pictures of celebrated men and women from old and new nlagazines and mag- ' Planting Peanuts lOI azinc advertisements, pastes them upon huge sheets of cardboard, substitutinii: numbers for their names. These cards are hung in the room where the guests are to be entertained ; and when all have arrived and have received pencils and sheets of paper, having numbers down the left side corresponding with those under the portraits, the game begins. The object is to see which person can attach the right names to the greatest number of fa- miliar faces in the given time, twenty-five min- utes. The correct list is then read aloud, each checks off his own successful guesses, and the player who has most to his credit receives a prize. LVIII Planting Peanuts Materials Required : Two quarts of pea- nuts s two bowls J a prize. The hostess appoints two leaders who choose sides until the party is divided equally, when, two large rugs having been spread near to- gether, a bowl of peanuts is placed in the i% !- ■ =fta ^ . J '5 iK 102 The Booh of Games centre of each. The object of the game is to see which party can first place all its peanuts one inch apart on the four edges of the rug, half on the rug and half on the floor, in a sort of fringe effect. For this purpose the leaders gather their respective teams in the centre of their rug, and at a given signal all begin the planting. The peanuts are divided among the victors, and a special prize may be given to the leader. *M l--;-« LIX PATCHWORK ILLUSTRATION Materials Required : As many sheets of foolscap paper as there are players s a number of pictures cut from advertisements ; two bowls j several pens and pairs of scissors ; a bottle of ink and one of mucilage ; a prize. The hostess collects beforehand a number of advertising pictures cut from magazines ; pict- ures of men, women, and children, marvellous candy, soap, bicycles, and baked beans. These are put into two bowls, and placed in the cen- tre of a large table with the other materials. Swaps 103 le is to )eanuts le rug, 1 a sort leaders intre of gin the )ng the iven to ^Aeefs of umber of bowls ; le of ink mber of s; pict- irvellous These the cen- laterials. Each player receives a sheet of foolscap paper with a quotation written on it, and all take seats around the table. It is announced that the object of the game is to make a picture illustrating the quotation at the top of one's paper. The advertisement men, women, and children are to be used for the figures, and pasted upon the sheets of paper ; while the ac- cessories can be advertisements too, and the landscape drawn in with pen and ink. The time allowed is half an hour, and the results are sure to be funny and sometimes most in- genious. An exhibition of the illustrations may follow, and a prize should be given for the best. LX Swaps Materials Required : As many slips of paper as there are guests. New England is responsible for this game. The hostess, in inviting her guests, asks each to bring the one particular thing he or she Ma.i ill 111 rlU i! I'i 104 The Book of Games wants to get rid of ; the impossible wedding or Christmas present, for example, that has been a trial to the spirit ever since it was received. Each brings one article of this kind, neatly wrapped and tied, and, a duplicate set of num- bers having been provided beforehand (half as many numbers as there are players and these duplicated), a number is pinned to the pack- age, which is held by its owner until further notice. When all the guests have arrived and have had their numbers attached, the hostess asks them all to be seated in a circle and then calls upon the two persons having No. 1 to ex- change packages. This is done, and then " No. 2 " is called, " No. 3," and so on, till all have *' swapped." Then the signal is given to unwrap the packages, and amid groans and laughter each finds that he has lost his own par- ticular trial only to gain a worse one, perhaps. At a recent game the discarded articles ranged from a cloissone plaque to a Concord grape, and included marvels in hand-painted celluloid and cr^pe paper, a very lively cat, and a dead mosquito. Nicknames of Cities LXl 105 Nicknames of Cities Materials Required: As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players ; a prize if desired. i' Everyone knows that certain cities have nicknames : As Brooklyn, the City of Church- es ; Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, etc. A long list will be found in any book of general information, and a game played like Living Catalogue (p. 11) is founded on this fact. The hostess, in sending her invitations asks the guests to wear something to represent the nicknames of cities. When the guests have all arrived each re- ceives pencil and paper, and is asked to write what cities he supposes the different persons represent. There should be a limited time in which to complete these lists, and the person who has the largest number of correct guesses may receive a prize. i j|i m 1 06 The Book of Games LXIi Biography Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players ; a prize. Each having received pencil and paper, the players take seats in a circle. With his left hand neighbor for a subject, each one writes an account of the ancestry, birthplace, youth, and subsequent happenings in this person *s life — the more absurd the better, of course. Fifteen minutes is allowed, and when the time has elapsed the papers are collected, and a prize may be given for the best production, if the winner is willing to acknowledge the author- ship. An example follows : A BIOGRAPHY This gentleman was born when he was quite young at a very early age. He entered this world barefoot and without teeth, and with little money in his pocket. He early made the acquaintance of his mother, but did not speak to his father for a year or more. He chose the name of Lamb because of family prejudices, and be- cause mutton was high. fl fls and Talking Shop. 107 Before he was six years old he had his fifth birthday, and could speak English and talk in five tunes with one eye shut and his hands tied behind his back. He put on his first boots as soon as his feet were ripe, and was known to be in love before he was out of his teens and false teeth. His first girl's name was Mary, of course, and here originated the famous poem about Mary had a little Lamb (Her last name Smith, you know) And everywhere that Mary stayed Her Lamb he would not go. There is much more to be said which had best be said in the dark of the moon, by a black policeman with red whiskers. LXIII I 1 Tlking Shop Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets 0/ foolscap paper as there are players ; prtzis for lady and gentleman. Partners are chosen for this game as follows : Half of the sheets of foolscap paper provided have the name of a woman on each. These are distributed among the ladies. The other ^ii Mi :. |: '1 4 ■' y io8 The Book of Games half have characters to match for the gentle- men. For example, " Una and " is writ- ten at the top of the lady's paper ; ** the Lion " on the one for her partner. Other sug- gestions are " Pyramus and — Thisbe," " Jacic and— Jill," "The Lady— and the Tiger/' "Fe- lix and — Mary Anne," " The Spider — and the Fly." When all have found their partners the hostess announces that the ladies will be al- lowed five minutes in which to talk to their partners about fashions, shopping, or house- hold affairs. At the end of that time the hostess rings a bell, and the gentlemen must in ten minutes, all unaided, write an account of what their partners have told them. The papers are then signed and collected, and at a signal the gentlemen are expected to talk about their business, stocks, real estate, law, or medi- cine, whatever it may be, for five minutes. Then their partners write what they can re- member of the conversation, in ten minutes, and these papers are signed and collected. A reading of all the compositions follows, and prizes are awarded to the two most amusing. ri Natural History 109 rentle- writ- — the ■ sug- '' Jack "Fe- id the LXIV Natural History Materials Required : A bowl of beans j a prize. A leader is chosen who starts the game by saying : " I am thinking of an animal, which 1 will describe ; and I will give a bean to the first player who guesses its name. Should any- one guess wrong, however, he or she cannot guess again, but I will name another point about the animal after each wrong guess. This animal walks on four feet, has a long tail, short ears, and varies in color and size." Some one says " a cat," and is wrong. The leader then says, " It has a pointed nose." Some one guesses " a collie dog," and is wrong. " It is very crafty and runs fast." This time several cry " A fox ! " and the one who spoke first gets a bean, and in turn describes an animal. When the game flags the player who has won the most beans receives a prize. ft' ■ ■; "'t \ 11 If' -' ■1 ' \ I i *, ;ll \i'} PART II IMPROMPTU GAMES ■I \ lit 1 ■ 1 I ^1 LXV A Spoonful of Fun Materials Required : One tablespoon or large wooden spoon ; a large handkerchief. This game comes to us from the German, and is a capital one. The players form a cir- cle, while one of their number is in the mid- dle blindfolded and has a large spoon for a wand. The players then take hands and go round in a circle to music. As the music stops they must all stop too, and the player in the middle gropes with his spoon until he touches one of the other players, who must at once stand perfectly still. The blindfolded player now tries, by deftly touching here and there, to discover who it is, and if he guesses correctly that player takes his place. All of course try to disguise themselves, for it is easier than at first appears to discover the identity of a person by this spoon-touch- ing. Some stand on tiptoe or crouch to disguise ' 1 114 The Book of Games their height; the gentlemen turn their coat lapels forward or arrange handkerchiefs so that their shirt-fronts will not betray them, and all try to puzzle the blindfolded spoon-holder. LXVI Trades MATfeRiALS Required: A book of poems or fairy tales . One player, preferably the host or hostess, holds the office u» reader in this game, and should choose some short story or poem (one that is well known and quite tragic is best) to read, without telling anyone what he has se- lected. Every player except the reader now chooses a trade or profession, which he retains throughout the game. When all are ready the reader opens his book and reads aloud from it until he comes to a com- mon noun, when he looks at one of the trades- men, who must immediately name some article which he would naturally have for sale, or some tool connected with his trade or profession. By this substitution of one noun for another the ir coat so that and all der. boems or hostess, me, and >em (one > best) to : has se- der now le retains , his book to a com - le trades- ne article ;, or some sion. By other the What is My Thought Like? 115 most tragic or pathetic passage is converted into a jumble of absurdities. For example : No. 1 is a butcher; No. 2, a carpenter; No. 3, a grocer; No. 4, a mason; No. S, a druggist; and No. 6, a baker. The poem is Longfellow's " Skeleton in Armor : " "Speak ! speak ! thou fearful (1) lanib Wiio, with thy hollow (2) nails Still in rude {3) /lour drest, Comest to daunt me ! Wrapt not in Eastern (4) bricks, But with thy fleshless (5) gums Stretched as if asking (6) rolls. Why dost thou haunt me ? " LXVII WHAT IS My Thought Like.? This is an old game, but will bear repeating. The leader begins by asking each of the play- ers, in turn, " What is my thought like ? " to which he answers the first thing that comes into his mind, of course avoiding naming any- thing already given. The leader keeps a list of the answers he receives, and then, telling what .•^:>|^.. ii6 The Book of Games •?«, 'hi m> his thought really was, asks each player in what way it resembles the thing he or she likened it to. For example : The leader asks of each, " What is my thought like ? " No. 1 says "A furnace;" No. 2, "A skate;" No. 3, "A book;" No. 4, "Ten cents;" No. 5, "Vanity;" No. 6, " A flower ; " No. 7, " Solitude ; " No. 8, " Supper ; " and No. 9, " Sunset." Leader : " My tiiought was ' myself.' So, No. 1 , why am I like a furnace ? " No. 1 : " Because you often go out." Leader : " And why like a skate ? " No. 2 : " Because you are bright and hard." Leader : " Why am I like a book ? " No. 3 : " Because you are well read." Leader : " And why like ten cents ? " No. 4 : " Because you sometimes pay for things." Leader: "Why am I like vanity?" No. 5 : " Because you are in many persons' hearts." Leader : " And why like a flower } " No. 6: "Because you are often fresh and sometimes rosy." Leader : " Why am I like solitude ? " No. 7 : " Because you are impossible in society." Leader : " Why am I like supper ? " No. 8 : " Because we all like you." Leader: " Why am I like sunset ?" No. 9: " Because you never stay long." ayer in or she ht like?" • " No. 3, Vanity ; " jupper;" lo. 1 , why lings, hearts." sometimes :iety." Cities 117 LXVIII Personal Conundrums These may serve to fill time between games. The leader propounds a conundrum comparing some one of the players with an inanimate object — furniture, an article of food, or dress. For example ; The leader says, " Why is Mr. D like this table ? " No. 1 says, " Because he is steady ; " No. 2, " Because he is polished ; " No. 3, " Because he can hold many dishes;" No. 4, "Because his complexion is dark;" No. 5, " Because he is always 'round." LXIX Cities Materials Required: As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players. To every player a pencil and paper are given, with the request that he or she write at the top of the paper the name of the city or town in v/hich the writer was born. Fifteen minutes' time is then allowed for all to write a sentence li I if 1 H ■ '*■ j -i T7" ii8 The Book of Games \k Jc suggestive or descriptive of the city or town which each has written on his or her paper. The words in the sentence must begin with the letters composing the name of the city or town, in consecutive order. The following examples will make this more clear : City— New York. Sentence— N-ew E-very W-inter Y-ou 0-ld R-iotous K-nickerbocker ! City— Boston. Sentence— B-ritish 0-utrageous S-windlers T-ea 0-verboard N-ow I LXX Jenkins Materials Required : One twenty-five-cent piece. There is a fascination about this game which is indescribable. It is said to be of great an- tiquity and common to almost every nation. To play Jenkins sides must be formed, and the players seat themselves at a long table, the opposing parties facing each other. Chance Jenkins 119 r town paper. v'lih the r town, s more R-iotous rs T-ea ive-cent which at an- lation. nd the le, the Chance decides which side shall first hide the piece, which is usually a silver quarter or something easily held in the closed hand of one of the players. The captain (whose seat is in the centre of the line of his players, facing the captain of the opposite side) puts his hands under the table, as do all the players of his side, and they then shift the piece from hand to hand so as to deceive the opposite players as to its where- abouts. The captain of the players who have not the quarter now calls, " Jenkins says hands up," and all the hands come up, closed ; then " Jenkins says hands down," and all the hands fall, palms downward, on the table. All try to make as much noise as possible in banging their hands down, so as to drown the clink of the coin as it strikes the table. The opposing side now tries to guess whose hand the coin is not under. Only the captain of this side can give the orders to the side hold- ing the quarter. He directs the players who, he or his party think, have not the piece under their hands to take their hands oflf, but should any other players of this side give orders, the 11 'm m ■if 120 The Booh of Games side with the quarter must not obey, on pain of losing it. Should the captain make a mis- take and call up a hand under which the coin is hidden, the coin remains with the same side, and the number of hands still on the table counts for the side which keeps the coin. But if the last hand left on the table covers the quarter, it then goes to the opposing players. The side which first scores fourteen points wins the game. These directions may sound as if Jenkins were a serious and intricate game. Far from it! Try it with two captains who are clever and successful leaders, and you will find it thoroughly good fun. LXXI Short Stories Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players j a prize, if desired. Try this game some time when you are at a loss for amusement for from five to twenty people. Without telling the players what the Short Stories 121 game is to be, give everyone pencil and paper, and ask five or six persons each to suggest the name of a character in history or fiction or in real life. These everyone writes at the top of his paper, in the order in which they were given. It may then be announced that each person is expected to write a short story, using the characters given as the dramatis personce. The story may be tragic, comic, love, or even a play or a poem will do. The players are allowed half an hour in which to compose these literary gems, and at the end of that time they are all collected and read aloud. A prize for the best story may be given, though the applause of the audience will probably be glory enough. This may serve as an example : Dramatis Personce.— Dmght L. Moody, Romeo, Polly Jones, Napoleon, Mrs. Guardian, Baby McKee, and Trilby. It was a gentle spring evening in Cambridge, and the clock in Mrs. Guardian's select boarding-house for Rad- cliffe Innocents was on the stroke of nine — ^" Angel Guardian " the girls called her, a name invented by the popular and fascinating Trilby, the president of the class of '86, who was now sitting in a graceful attitude on 4i JtMflBaHMjnrnii — iinnii.-tiwtfiHtyiarfiigBi ■KMHm^riiwi"! "^'^ \>i ma 122 The Book of Games the edge of the table, feeding Baby McKee, the Maltese kitten, with sweet cream and caramels, while the parrot, who from his skill in profanity had been christened Dwight L. Moody, looked sulkily down from his perch. A r.ng at the bell, and Polly Jones, the Irish maid, ushered in tw youths on whom the suns of scarce twenty summers had shone. Trilby, gracefully de- scending to the level of the common throng, welcomed the visitors and inquired after the health of Miss Capu- let, the fiancee of the younger man, Romeo Montague. " Gone to Mount Auburn," he said, ' lO make arrange- ments about the ventilation of the family vault. We are going to give a little tea there— you'll come, won't you ? Our friend Nap. says he'll be on hand." Napoleon frowned and buttoned his gray coat. The clock struck ten and they were gently but firmly fired out. LXXII The Impossible Cat This good old game is worth repeating. Two captains are chosen, who in turn choose sides, and all are seated, the two sides facing each other. One captain begins, " The Game Club cat is ambiguous," and then counts ten. Before he has finished counting the opposite captain must say ** The Game Club cat is agile," or Famous Characters 123 some other adjective beginning with " a." No one can use an adjective that has already been given, and if a player cannot think of one be- fore the opposing player counts ten he is out. When the adjectives beginning with " a " have all been exhausted, those beginning with " b" are begun, and so on through the alphabet until all the players on one side are out, when the other side has won the game. or LXXIII FAMOUS Characters One of the players goes out of the room while the others decide upon the name of some famous person, which is made up of as many letters as there are players. Beginning at one end of the circle of players, to each is assigned a letter of the character's name, and each chooses another well-known person in history or fiction to impersonate, one whose name begins with the letter assigned him. The player who has gone out now returns and questions each of the others in the order in which he is told the ,ji J iV m 124 The Book of Games letters of the name come. He must ask ques- tions to which " yes " or " no " can be answered, and from the guessing of each individual char- acter he gets one letter of the whole name, and so on until the entire name is revealed, when the person whose letter suggested the name goes out. Suppose there are eight players and Dis- raeli is the character selected. The first player, having D for the initial letter of his individual character, chooses Diana ; the second, having I, takes Isaac Walton ; the third, having S, takes Sara Bernhardt; the fourth, having R, takes Robinson Crusoe; the fifth, having A, takes Alice in Wonderland; the sixth, having E, takes Elaine; the seventh, having L, takes Liliukolani; and the eighth, having I, takes Ivanhoe. LXXIV Stuff and Nonsense Here is a chance for fun without effort. All of the players being seated in a circle, one starts by whispering to the person at his left stuff and Nonsense 125 an article (tliis is speaking grammatically), the player thus spoken to whispers to the one at his left an adjective, and eacji in turn whispers to the person at his left the following parts of speech in regular sequence : an article, an ad- jective, a noun (singular), a verb, an adverb, a number, another adjective, and a noun (plural). When these words have thus been whispered to nine players, the first player tells his word, then the second, third, and so on till a complete sentence is repeated. For example : The first player whispers the article the, the second player the adjective aggressive, the third player the noun motor-man, the fourth player the verb carved, the fifth player the adverb morosely, the sixth player the number sixty-nine, the seventh player another adjective, silljy, and the eighth player a noun plural, cats, to finish. Each now speaking his word aloud, the nonsense is this : " The aggressive motor-man carved morosely sixty-nine silly cats." If the party feels equal to more of this, the sentence may be started by someone who was not of the first set. An article is whispered again, then the adjective, noun, verb, adverb, etc., as before, in regular order, and another ridiculous combination follows. mi 126 The Booh of Games LXXV Theatrical Titles of Books Another game needing no preparation, and one which is sure to be amusing, is described as follows : Two of the players are sent from the room to choose the title of a book, poem, or song. When this is done they plan how they can best act it in pantomime for the bene- fit of the rest of the party, who are to guess the title — if they can. For instance, if one of the impromptu actors is a young girl, she may come in and sit beside her companion, ear- nestly whispering and gesticulating, to repre- sent " The Confessions of a Frivolous Girl." For " Innocents Abroad," the actors walk in carrying travelling-bags, canes, and umbrellas, one of them perhaps having a scarf tied around his hat ; then they should have guide-books and inquiring expressions as they walk about ex- amining everything closely. " Tired of House- keeping," T. S. Arthur; "The Betrothed," Sir Walter Scott; "Kept in the Dark," Trol- lope ; " I Say No," Wilkie Collins ; " Twice- Orchestra Z27 Told Tales/' Nathaniel Hawthorne, and " The Minister's Wooing," H. B. Stowe, are a few suggestions for these pantomimes ; while " Be- hind Closed Doors " may be effectively done by keeping the doors closed between the room where the actors are and the audience, until at last the audience calls for them, when they can say that the title has been acted. LXXVI Orchestra No noisier game than this can be found. The players having chosen from among their num- ber a conductor, seat themselves around him in a circle. The conductor nov/ assigns to each a musical instrument, and shows in pantomime exactly how it is to be played. When all have been provided with their imaginary instru- ments the conductor orders them to tune up, thus giving each musician a fine chance to make all sorts of discordant noises. When the different instruments have been tuned the conductor waws an imaginary baton and begins to hum a lively air, in which m U: U ill m 12S The Book of Games he is accompanied by his whole band, each player imitating with his voice the sounds, and with his hands the different movements, made in performing on a real instrument. Every now and then the conductor pretends to play on a certain instrument, and the player to whom it belongs must at once alter his motions to those of the conductor and keep silence while continuing to wield the imaginary baton until the leader abandons his instrument. Should a player fail to take the conductor's place at the right time he must pay a forfeit. The fun of this game depends very largely upon the humor and quickness of the con- ductor as he abandons his baton for the in- struments of the other musicians. LXXVII Bequests Materials Required : As many pencils and s heels of foolscap paper as there are players. All having received pencils and paper it is requested that every player shall draw up his or her will, leaving something to each one of Teapot Z39 the other players, no matter whether it is a possession, a quality, a fault or care, a hope or a beauty; to everyone must be given some- thing, and at the same time directions should be given as to the use to be made of each legacy. When all have finished the papers are col- lected and read aloud by the host or one of the players. LXXVllI Teapot One player goes out of the room while the others think of some word which has two or more different meanings. Suppose the word " train " is selected. When the player who has been out comes into the room each of the others, in turn, says something to him— some sentence in which "train" is used, substituting for "train" the word "teapot." One says, for example, " I like to ride in the teapot" another says " I hear that Mr. Blank is going to teapot for the foot-ball match," " It is nec- essary to teapot children," " What a long tea^ pot Mrs. Brown has." I 1 1 m\\ ' ¥ 1 I J m W itmum MW 130 The Book of Games When the word is guessed the player whose sentence suggested it to the guesser must go cut of the room while the others choose a word, and the game goes on as before. LXXIX Dumb Motions The players separate into two sides and de- cide who shall be " masters" and who " men." The men's aim is to keep at work as long as possible and to prevent their places being taken by the masters. Having consulted among the !i- selves the men decide upon a trade or profes- sion to engage in, one which may be illustrated by certain actions of the body. They now form a line in front of the masters, who are told by the leader of the men the first and last letters of the trade they are about to engage in. For example: P r, for painter; M n, for motor-man; F 1, for florist; I n, for ice-man ; W r, for waiter ; and so on. The men now begin to express in dumb mo- tions the various labors belonging to the trade i-m ft Scouts 131 they have chosen. Suppose they are florists, one of the players will seem to be watering flowers, another arranging them in a vase, another wiring the stems, and others will be making phantom flowers into imaginary bou- quets or '* set pieces." If any of the men speak or use wrong gestures the whole side is out. One guess each is allowed the masters, and if none of them can hit upon the right trade the men tell them what it was and fix upon an- other to act. If, however, some one of the masters guesses correctly, the men are out and become masters. If any of the men wish to stop work after they have continued at it for some time, even though the masters have not all made their guesses, they may do so if they have worked a reasonable time. J - i i. ' i M J hi < ■ -n. LXXX Scouts In this game, which is very like Twenty Questions, the players divide into two parties and go into different rooms. Each party then "'■"• ' — "T— -^>»-f.»««~.«-»'«»— T" 132 The Booh of Games sends but a " scout," and the two meet and de- cide on some difficult thing to guess (a small object in a local shop, the left eyebrow of Julius CjEsar, or anything equally puzzling), and then return to the rooms, each going to his opponent's party, where questions are asked him in quick succession, as the side guessing first is the winning one and can take posses- sion of both " scouts." Only those questions which can be answered by " yes," " no," or " I don't know " are allowable. As in Twenty Questions, it is first discovered whether the ob- ject is " animal," " vegetable," or " mineral," and after this is settled the questions come thick and fast until one of the parties has won the guessing race, when a shout or a whistle proclaims the fact to their opponents. LXXXI Commercial Traveller This is one of the convenient games which can be played on the spur of the moment, and requires no materials, not even the usual pen- l-^f Commercial Traveller 133 and de- a small )row of ng:),and to his s asked guessing posses- uestions ," or " I Twenty the ob- ineral," s come las won whistle 5 which nt, and al pen- cil and paper. The players being seated in a circle a leader is chosen, who, beginning any- where in the circle, asks questions which must be answered alphabetically; that is, the first person's words should all begin with " a," the second with " b," and so on. For example: Leader: " Ladies and gentlemen, we will suppose that you are all commercial travellers about to start on a journey to any part of the world you may prefer, on business. Will you each kindly tell me where you are going and for what purpose, naming your destinations ' and errands alphabetically?" Leader: "Where are you going, No. 1?" Answer: " To Annapolis." "What will you do there?" Answer: "Advertise aniESthetics." " I am going to Bayreuth," says the next. " What will do there ? " asks the leader. Answer : " Boast * Bur- nishine ' brightens boilers." Each person is asked in turn by the leader, " Where are you going ? " and " What will you do there ? " C goes to Chicago, to catch Columbian coins. D to Damascus, to dun dancing dervishes. E to England, to enjoy eagerly every entertainment. F to Florida, to find a fortune in fly-paper. G to Glasgow, to gayly gather guineas. ^ H to Hayti, to have hard hustling. I to India to inspect idols. i } 134 The Book of dmes J to Jersey, to jump on jays. K to Khartoum, to keep knitted knee-caps and knives. L to Leominster, to learn lying. M to Montreal, to make money. N to N?.ples, to negotiate neatly. O to Oklahoma, to open an oyster-shop. P to Pittsburgh, to pull in pennies. Q to Quito, to quote quinces. R to Russia, to rush rice and raisins. S to Senegambia, to sell saucepans. T to Turkey, to treat the trade. U to Uruguay, to urge the unwilling. V to Vienna, to victimize various viscounts. W to Washington, to willingly waste wages. Y to Yazoo, to yell at yielding yokels. Z to Zanzibar, to zealously sell zebras. LXXXII The Seasons The first player or leader, who begins the game, alone understands the trick or motive of this game. He begins by addressing one of the players in this way : " Will you go in the spring, summer, autumn, or winter?" The person questioned replies, naming any one of IVho is My Neighbor? 135 the seasons. Suppose " spring " was answered, the game will properly proceed in this way : Leader : " What will you take with you ? " Answer : " Soda." Leader : " What will you wear ? " Answer : " I'll wear a sombrero, shooting-suit, and slippers." Leader: "What will you do?" Answer: "I'll sing s mgs." The words in the answers should all begin with the first letter of the season chosen. If autumn has been answered, the replies should begin with " a ; " if winter, with " w." But as no one but the leader understands the trick the replies will be haphazard, and everyone who is wrong must pay a forfeit, while the question passes to the next person. i-i u LXXXIII Who is My Neighbor.? This is a lively game for beginning an e.ven- ing, and particularly useful in an emergency, for it can be played without preparation of any kind. One -half of the company are blind- folded ; these helpless ones are then seated in ■ »/; < 'J mm liaiii 136 The Book of Games such a way that each has a vacant chair at his right hand. The remaining half of the play- ers now gather in the middle of the room, in perfect silence. The leader announces that at a given signal the unblindfolded players will each take one of the empty seats next to those who are blindfolded, and when requested to sing the unblindfolded must do so, disguising their voices if they choose. The blindfolded persons must not sing, but must listen atten- tively and each try to guess who his singing right-hand neighbor is. Each blindfolded play- er is not to remove his bandage until he gives correctly the name of his right-hand neighbor, who then takes off the bandage of the success- ful guesser, and must submit to be bandaged in his turn and to take the guesser's place. When the secret signal is given the players who are unblindfolded creep noiselessly to the vacant chairs; the leader then goes to the piano and begins to play the accompaniment to some familiar song like " Marching Through Georgia." " Sing," he cries, and all the un- blindfolded players do their best — or worst — until the leader cries " Enough." The blind- 4 How? Where? When? 137 folded then guess who the singers at their right hand were. Those whose guesses are wrong must rema.n blindfolded until the next time, when perhaps, with wisdom learned from their first failure, they will guess correctly and be released. LXXXIV How.? Where.? When.? One of the players is sent from the room while the others decide upon a subject, which may be anything about which the three ques- tions, " How do you like it ? " *' Where do you like it ? " and " When do you like it .? " may be asked. It should be some word with two or three meanings, as such a word renders the answers quite confusing and misleading. For ii nee, if vain (vein, vane) be the word chosen, one of the players may say, in answer to the first question, that he likes it "Of gold " (vein) ; in answer to the second, that he likes it ** On a steeple " (vane) ; and in answer to the third, that he likes it " When it is con- spicuous by its absence " (vain). \^\ ; -i 138 The Book of Games When the out-player comes in he puts the first question to the nearest player, who re- turns a puzzling answer ; he then passes to ihe next and repeats the same question, then to the next, and so on till he has gone around the room. If none of the answers enables him to guess the subject he tries each player with the next question, and if then he is still in the dark he asks a reply from each to the third and last question. Should he fail to guess the subject after asking all the questions he must go out again, but should he guess it during his rounds the player last questioned must go out of the room in his place. 1 1 ' LXXXV Nonsense Rhymes Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players ; a prize y if desired. Who doesn't enjoy Lear's " Nonsense Rhymes ? " His metre is so simple that al- most anyone can imitate it, in a way, and an amusing game may be played with this for the Button, Button, Negatively 139 motive. Each person receives pencil and paper, and is asked to produce a nonsense rhyme ac- cording to Lear. The following is an example : " There was a young man of Bridgeport Who sat on the stove just for sport, And though he was burned, No lesson he learned, This eccentric young man of Bridgeport." LXXXVI Button, Button, Negatively ^ This is a new way of playing an old game. The players sit around the room in a circle or hollow square. One who is the leader then takes a button and holding it between his hands, which are pressed palms together, so as to conceal it, goes around the circle. Each player holds his or her hands together in the same way, and as the leader goes around he presses his hands between those of the other players, in turn, saying to each, " Hold fast what I give you," and being careial not to show into whose hand he drops the button. When the circuit has been made the leader goes to the first player and says, "Button, kii ■11' m ' i M IWlMI flP I n\ m x;\^' 140 The Book of Games button, who hasn't got the button ? " and this person must answer, naming someone who he supposes hasn't it. So it goes on around the ring until all have answered this question according to their be- lief, when the leader cries, " Button, button, rise ! " and the button holder does so. Then if there is anyone who guessed that the person who really held the button did not hold it he becomes a " ghost " and out of the charmed circle; the player who held the button be- comes leader and the game goes on. If no one is caught, however, the game proceeds as before, the leader changing places with the player who held the button. The "ghosts" can only become mortal and again join the circle wher* they can get some player in the circle to speak to them, and then that mortal must take the "ghost's" place. LXXXVII Gardening This is gardening made easy. Each of the players is asked in turn what was planted in "N**."' Philopeua 141 his garden and what came up. Articles planted may be of any description, but must come up plants of some kind whose names have some punning connection with the articles planted. For example : First player : " I planted a ball and it came up a rub- ber-plant." Second player: "I planted the United States and it came up a carnation " (car nation). Third player : " I planted a calendar and it came up dates." Fourth player : " I planted a ship and it came up in dock." Fifth player : " I planted an old coat and it came up firs" (furs). Sixth player: "I planted a watch and it came up four-o'clock." Seventh player : " I planted an unattractive girl and she came up a wall-flower." Eighth player : " I planted some steps and they came up hops." • \ II LXXXVIIl Philopena The company take seats in two lines, facing each other, leaving room between the lines for the leader to walk up and down. The leader 142 The Booh of Games stops in front of some person and, addressing such person by name, asks a question. The per- son addressed must not make any reply, but the one opposite the person addressed (and behind ti.e leader) must respond before the leader counts ten, in which case the leader tries again, endeavoring to catch someone suddenly off guard. If the person addressed directly an- swers the question by so much as a word, or if the one behind the questioner fails to answer within the prescribed time, the person at fault becomes the leader, in turn, and the previous leader takes such player's seat. This may also be played without requiring the leader to stand in front of the person addressed, but the leader may from any loca- t'on address any of the company by name, when such person may not reply, but the one opposite must do so. LXXXIX Cross-questions and Silly Answers The company being arranged in two lines facing each other, preferably ladies on one side I Cross-questions and Silly Answers 143 and gentlemen on the other, except two per- sons, a lady and gentleman, for leaders, the lady leader walks down the line behind the gentlemen and whispers to each a serious question to be propounded in turn to the lady opposite. The gentleman leader proceeds to whisper in the ear of each lady in the opposite line an absurd answer to give to the question to be propounded. There must, of course, be no collusion between the leaders as to the ques- tions and answers to be given. Then, starting at the head of the line, the first gentleman pro- pounds the question assigned him and the op- posite lady replies with her answer, the ques- tion and answer being repeated three times, and during such time neither he nor she may so much as smile, the penalty for so doing be- ing a forfeit. Each couple does likewise, in turn, after which two other leaders may be selected, and the game repeated, assigning the questions this time to the ladies and the answers to the gen- tlemen. Instead of forfeits, each person who laughs may be compelled to withdraw, and the one who is the last to succumb wins ih^ p' .e. i- I I' .■ V ,0im^i'W'^'- [;^UlAk&«»«KK" r.:^.-^ m ■t 'I • 'X- I ; .f- ■. 144 The Book of Games XC Spirits Materials Required ; -<4 prise, if desired. From fifteen to twenty people can play this game, and if they are quick-witted it will cer- tainly be a success. The players being seated around the room in a circle, one of their num- ber, who has made himself familiar with the directions, explains the working of the game in this way : The first player names a letter, any letter in the alphabet ; the second, thinking of a word, supplies the second letter in it ; the third, with a different word in mind, gives a third letter, taking care not to finish the word ; and so on until some player is forced to give the last let- ter to a word. By so doing he incurs the penalty of a forfeit, which consists in losing an imaginary " life," of which, at the beginning of the game, each person has three. When a player has in this way lost all three lives he be- comes a "spirit," and leaves the circle. He spirits 145 ?sired. )lay this ivill cer- % seated ir num- /ith the e game letter in a word, d, with I letter, d soon last let- jrs the sing an inning ^hen' he be- i. He a may, however, " haunt " his former compan- ions, and if he can succeed in getting one of them to speak to him or answer a question, he forces him to lose one of his lives. If a player, in naming a letter, is suspected of not having a word in mind he may be challenged, and if he cannot think of a word which his let- ter will help to make he must lose a "life;" if, however, the suspicion was unfounded and he had a legitimate word in mind, his chal- lenger loses a " life." When a word is completed the next player begins another, and the game goes on. No word can ever be finished which forms in its progress a shorter word (as "is" in island, " for " in forfeit), and, of course, any player who finishes even a word of two letters in this way loses a life. The following is an example of the way the game is played : No. 1 begins a word by the letter s. No. 2, thinking of scowl, says c (sc). No. 3, thinking of scan, says a (sea). No. 4, to avoid finishing, and thinking of scale, says I (seal). No. 5 gives another 1 (scall), and is chal- lenged, but answers satisfactorily that he was thinking i '! ;.'i'il ■i Vi I Ml I I, . r t t I \ 146 The Book of Games of scallop. No. 6 says o (scallo). And No. 7 is forced to finish the word by giving p (scallop), thereby losing a " life." While the party of spirits is being added to, the players in the circle grow fewer and fewer, until at last, when but one person survives, the game is ended, and the "living" player may receive a prize. XCI Wordy Word Materials Required : As many pencils and sheds of paper as there are players ; a prise ^ if desired. Each person is provided with a slip of paper ?.nd pencil. Then the leader selects some ordi- nary (or extraordinary) word of ten to twenty letters, which all write down; and, with the letters composing such word, as many other words as possible are constructed, proper names and foreign languages being barred. The per- son discovering the most words wins the prize. It will be found surprising how many other words can be constructed from the letters of i Advice 147 some simple noun. For instance, the word ** schedule" contains more than fifty other words. XCII Advice Materials Required : As many pencils and slips of papery three by Jive inches ^ as there are players. The players having all been supplied with pencils and paper, each writes a piece of ad- vice; the slips of paper are then folded and all are collected. They are then shuffled in a bov/1 and each player draws one, but before opening it he must express his opinion of the advice, whether he thinks it good or uncalled for. After expressing himself freely about it, he reads the advice aloud. For example, A says he thinks his advice is about right, and then reads from the slip of paper he has drawn : " Don't be so sure of your own charms." Another game of Advice will prove very amusing for a party of people knowing one !*■■ ii i^ § 148 The Book of Games another well. The hostess asks each one of her guests to bring a letter of advice or admo- nition addressed to one of the other guests and signed by still another person who has been invited. At supper each guest finds one of these letters at his or her place, and is asked to read it aloud between courses. A lively supper will be the result. XCllI Fire Materials Required : A knotted handker- chief. Two captains arc chosen, and each chooses, in turn, his players until the party is divided equally. The sides lx;ing seated in two rows facing each other, the captain whose turn it would be to choose begins the game. Taking a knotted handkerchief he throws it suddenly at one of the players opposite, calling out at the same time either "Earth!" "Water!" " Air ! " or " Fire ! " If " Earth " is called, the player into whose lap the. handkerchief falls must name some quadruped before the other // 149 can count ten ; if " Water," he must name a fish; if " Air," a bird ; and if " Fire," he must remain perfectly silent. Should the player fail to name an animal, or name the wrong one, or speak when he ought to be silent, he must drop out of the game, and the player who threw the handkerchief at him may take and throw it at someone else. But should he an- swer properly he must throw the handkerchief at a player on the opposite side, call an element, and count ten. In this way the game goes on until all of one side have had to drop out, when the opposing side has won. Those who have never played this simple game can have no idea of the absurd mistakes the different players make when called upon quickly. XCIV IT Before starting this game it will be well to inquire who knows how to play "It," for there must be at least one person in the party who has never been initiated into " It's" mysteries. ISO The Book of Games This must be diplomatically discovercu, how- ever, as it is important that the player selected should not suspect a trick. When such a per- son is found he is sent out of the room ; but before going he is told that the game is a form of ' T^venty Questions," and that +he other players will choose some object for him to guess, and when he comes back he is to ask a question of each person, in turn, so as to dis- cover from their answers what the object is. All questions must be such as can be answered by " yes," " no," or " I don't know." After this player has gone out the hostess ex- plains to the rest, who are seated around the room, that each is to fix upon his left-hand neighbor as the object to be guessed, and an- swer all questions as they apply to this person on their left. It will be well to rearrange the party so that there will be first a lady and then a gentleman, and so on around the circle. For example : The Out-player asks of No. 1 (a lady), " Is it an ani- mal?" No. 1: "Yes." Out-player, to No. 2 (a gentleman) : " Is it a human being?" No. 2: "Yes." Telegrams 151 Out-player, to No. 3 (a lady) : " Dees it wear puflFed sleeves?" No. 3 (speaking of No. 4, a gentleman): •* No." Out-player, to No. 4 : " Does it smoke ? " No. 4 (speak- ing of No. 5, a lady) : " I don't know." Out-player, to No. 5 : " Is it beautiful ? " No. 5 (speak- ing of No. 6, a gentleman) : " No." Out-player, to No. 6: "Is it's hair long?" No. 6 (speaking of No. 7, a lady) : " Yes." Out-player, to No. 7: "Is its hair six inches long?" No. 7 (speaking of No. 8, a gentleman) : " No." These conflicting answers will completely perplex the guesser and will be very amusing to the rest of the party for some time. jj5 t 1 xcv Telegrams Materials Required : A pad of paper ; as many lead-pencils as there are players. Pencils and paper are distributed, and ten of the players are asked each to give a letter of the alphabet. These letters every player of the party writes in sequence at the top of his or her sheet of paper. The hostess then announces ^^' •I 111 j# wm • ,i The Booh of Games i'l'^i everyone is to write a telegram, the ten words .o begin with tlie ten letters given, in consecutive order, as : Letters given : S, A, Q, T, L, N, K, M, B, E. Telegram : " Send arnica quickly ; tell Lizzie nothing ; kitten mutilated by expressman." Or a subject may be given for all to write on — as an accident, a proposal of marriage, congratulations, condolences, or an appoint- ment. XCVI Boston Telegrams Materials Required : As many pencils and twice a<^ many sheets of paper as there are players. This game, as its name suggests, is more difficult than the ordinary telegrams. The players are seated in a circle, each with pen- cil and paper. No. 1 writes the letter A at the fop of his or her paper; No. 2, B; No. 3, C; and so on until each has a different letter of the alphabet. All are then asked to write a tele- Postman 153 I gram, every one of the ten words in it to begin with the same letter — the one written -n each paper. The time allowed is fifteen mum' s. When this is done each passes hii telegram to his right-hand neighbor, who mus^ write a telegram in answer, every one of ^'le ten words to begin with the letter first assigned him. For example : First telegram : " Adorable American, ardent admirer asks affection and appreciation ; answer affirmatively." Second telegram, answering : " Blundering British bore, begone; bright Boston banker brings betrothal bracelet." XCVII Postman Materials Required : List of as many cities and towns as there are players s a large hand- kerchief. This is an exciting gn.me and may be played by an unlimited number, being specially adapt- ed for a large party. One of the players is blindfolded, and he is called the Postman, an- other volunteers to fill the office of Postmaster, u »l'A.!i -^n,IJWi.>j».W.WW| h I ■I' I'. 154 The Book of Games and all the rest of the players seat themselves around the room (which has been cleared of furniture as much as possible). No empty chairs must be left. The Postmaster assigns to each player the name of a city or town. It would be well to prepare a list of places before- hand, as many as there are players, in case the Postmaster's memory fails. The blind Post- man is next placed in the centre of the room, and the Postmaster takes a position where he can overlook the players. He then calls out, " I have sent a letter from St. Louis to New Haven," for exanple, and the players repre- senting thobe cities quickly change places. As they run the Postman tries to capture one of them, and if he can do this or can manage to sit down in an empty chair, the player who is caught or whose chair he has taken becomes Postman. The Postmaster is not changed unless he grows tired of his position, which is not an easy one, as he must call the mails between the different places in quick succession. If a player remains seated when his name is called he is obliged to take the Postman's place. Barber Shop 155 XCVIII Barber Shop One gentleman of the party is selected to be the victim in this game. He is invited into another room where he sees three lovely maid- ens standing behind a sofa, and does not see a small boy who is concealed back of the sofa. The leader tells him that this is a Barber shop, and asks which he will have, a " shave, sham-' poo, or hair cut } " His choice being ex- pressed, he is blindfolded and led to the sofa, where he is seated ; and at a given signal the small boy rises, leans over the back of the sofa, and kisses him on the cheek, dodging quickly back before the blindfolded one can tear off the handkerchief. Needless to say, there is much merriment among the spectators, and the feelings of tl)e victim are better imag- ined than described. i 1 1 \-. iS6 The Book of Games m XCIX Royal Lady This game, though not new, is highly enter- taining, and requires nothing but two or three aozen twisted paper horns or lamplighters, and a circle of gamesome people. One begins by saying to his right hand neighbor, " Good- evening, Royal Lady (or Gentleman) I, a Royal Gentleman, come from a Royal Gentle- man to say that I have an ostrich." The lady addressed in turn says to her right- hand neighbor, " Good -evening, Royal Gentle- man; I, a Royal Lady, come from a Royal Gentleman, to say that 1 have an ostrich with a wooden leg." Each must repe^it this formula, only varying it according to whether they are addressing a a lady or gentleman, and each time adding something to the description of the ostrich, or whatever animal has been spoken of. The first player who makes a mistake or omission must be decorated with a paper horn; and thereafter must be addressed as " One-horned Horn Monkey 157 Lady or Gentleman." The game goes on till most of i\v -'ayers are bristling with horns, when if there be one who is hornless, he or she is the winner. Horn Monkey Chicago is said to be the home of Hon Monkey. It is played as follows : A circle of players is formed and the hostess or leader asks one of the company to start the game by nam- ing an animal whose initial letter is " A," as Ape. The next player to the left says " Ape, Bear " (or any other animal whose initial is B), and so it goes on alphabetically around the circle, each player repeating in correct order the animals which have been given, and adding one whose initial comes next. Should any player fail in this he is called derisively a *' Horn Monkey," and no one thereafter must fail to say " Horn Monkey" when he comes to the break in the sequence of animals' names. There are apt to be several Horn Monkeys, and the more the merrier ! i ■i! .!€ii&!S>ii' .'i'.vHSViUS'.;, /ifci . -.1 .^i-j' 158 The Book of Games CI Useless Information Materials Required : A book of useful in- formation ; a box of candy. This game originated at a well-known club in New York, whose members never weary of playing it. One of the almanacs published by a daily paper, or any other book of useful in- formation, in the hands of a fluent talker with ready wit is sufficient material for a splendid game. When the players are gathered in a circle the leader asks a question like, " What per cent, of sulphur does a man's body contain — I want the exact per cent ! " The answers are sure to be wild, but the one whose guess is nearest is the winner, and must drop out of the game until after the next question has been answered. Impromptu prizes, such as Alice in Wonderland gave in the Caucus Race may be given to the winners ; or a box of candy will furnish prizes for a whole evening if a bon- bon rewards each player who is nearest right. PART 111 GAMES FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS f m 1 ;g 'I ii 11 'i I CII New Year's Resolutions Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper as there are players. For a New Year's party, or for one given within a few days of January 1st, a good sug- gestion is New Year's resolutions. Pencils and paper are brought out, and every guest is asked to write his or her resolutions for the new year ; or, if preferred, to write someone else's ^ resolutions (or those someone else ought to make), signed by that person. The papers are then folded, collected, and then drawn, one apiece, by the placers, and each in turn reads aloud the resolutions which have come to him or her. For example : This first day of January, 18 — , I resolve to follow these rules for the coming year : I. If I can't be honest, I'll be as honest as I can. II. I will chew 1 ) more taffy with my imported ivories III. I must walk with lay right foot on the left side. IV. I must stop smoking in my sleep ; and, V. Walk around the block before rising. ■s m The Book of Games cm St. Valentine's Day Materials Required : T/ie reader is referred to the detailed descriptions of the following games. As iht fourteenth of February draws near perhaps you will plan a St. Valentine's party. If your guests are clever people you will do well to ask each to write one or more valen- tines to bring on the appointed evening — valentines specially appropriate to some of the other guests. AJi:i all have arrived and the valentines have i uu collected, pin them to a huge red-heart sofa-pillow (easy to fashion of turkey-red cotton), those for the gentlemen be- ing fastened on one side and the ladies' on the other. At the top of the heart a loop of red silk cord or ribbon is attached, large enough to enable the hostess to hang it on her arm as she walks from one to another of her guests, asking each gentleman to take a valentine addressed to a Irdy and each lady one to a gentleman. Wiien everyone has a valentine the hostess asks one of the players to read the one h^ or she St'. Valentine's Day 163 has aloud, and this is done, in turn, until all are read, and another round is made with the valen- tine-covered heart. If your party is informal, and your guests are friends, you will find this game delightfully amusing. Here is an example : TO THOMPSON, FROM HIS VALENTINE O Thompson, be humble; we're weary with viewing The airs and the graces you lately have worn. Pray remember that some of us sported the purple 'Mid the crime de la creme 'ere you ever were born. Just because some large-hearted and pitying neighbor Sought to soothe your aspiring dissatisfied soul By lauding your manners, your voice, and your paces, You are walking on stilts and with high-rollers roll I Your voice — well now, Thompson, you know it's not mellow, No more than a buzz-saw or tired-out loon ; And yet you have swallowed this mild piece of satire And roar out in church like a bursted bassoon ! Your high-stepping horses we know are on credit ; Your journeys to Europe all charged to the house. Swell out, if you like, 'mid your tape and your hairpins. But here, at the Game Club, be still as a mouse. To these words, my dear fellow, I trust you will hearken, And on your bad courses will draw a tight rein. Be humble, be modest, be truthful and sober And the Game Club will dub you " nice 1 kompson " again. -'m ^. iHf II ll i I if h' w 164 The Booh of Games The sofa-pillow makes a ^ood prize for the next game, which is a highly appropriate con- test— shooting at a heart-shaped target with a small and much-beribboned bow and gay gilded dart. The frame for the target can be made by a carpenter at small expense ; it should then be covered with red paper and a small gilt-paper heart pasted in the rentre of it by way of a bull's- eye. The ladies and gent'.emen shoot in turn, and the best shot receives the heart sofa-pillow as a prize. Alphabetical Compliments is a restful game kfter the archery contest. Each gentleman re- ceives a card or slip of paper, on which is written the name of a lady — some one of the party. The host then calls a gentleman and ivAs him to go to the lady whose name is on hU card and pay her a compliment, each word oi which must begin with the first letter of her Chilstian name. She must gracefully reply, using for the first letter of every word the let- ter his name begins with. For example : Compliment : " Claire's charms claim compliments.'* Reply : " Artless Alexander adores alliterative ambig- uous allusions and anodyne adjectives." Washhigton's Birthday 165 When all have given or replied to a com- pliment a vote is taken a? to who paid the cleverest compliment and who made the best reply, and the prizes are awarded accord- ingly. After this game it is surely time for supper. If one wishes, and a caterer is not out of the question, it is attractive to have ices and cakes in the shape and color of hearts at suppei but this is nut nc essary, and of course is not pos- sible out of town without a good deal of trouble and expense. A Heart Hunt, modelled on the "Peanut Hunt " described elsewhere, may follow sup- per. The white candy hearts, red lettered in loving messages (which are to be hidden in place of peanuts , are obtainable at almost any small confectioner's. After this— Good -night. CIV Washington's BuxThday A tea-party of the olden time is an appro- priate celebration of Washington's Birthday. Ifl 1 66 The Booh of Games If possible, the room where the guests are to be entertained should contain a number of pieces of antique furniture. Kveryone should be asked to come in eij^^hteenth-century dress — tiie ladies in short-waisted gowns, powder, and patches, the gentlemen in knee-breeches, with coats of broadcloth, silk stockings, and buckled shoes. Each should be asked to bring some- thing curious and ancient — some heirloom, if possible, with a story attached to it. In t'.iese days of Colonial Dames and Sons and Daugh- ters of the Revolution almost everyone has some adventure of an ancestor or romance of an ancestress to tell; and when every guest has either told a story or shown a relic, such old-fashioned games as Hunt the Slipper, Hide the Thimble, London Bridge, or Battledore and Shuttlecock may be played. At supper in the olden time, a chronicler tells us " our fare consisted of cold ham and tongue, jellies, whips, custards, creams, blanc- mange, tarts, puddings, cheese-cakes, grapes, nuts, almonds, cakes of every variety, and confectionery." Here is certainly a long list to choose from, for this bill of fare, divided by WW'. /ipril First 167 two or even three, would suflice for the appe- tite of tlic chronicler's ^renl-graiuidaiightcr. After supper a few okUfasliioned dances — contra 'uices, reels, and a minuet, will be quite in keeping, and at midnight the party is over. CV APRIL First Materials Required : A prize for each game. April Fool's Day doesn't seem .1 very ap- propriate occasion for a party. Just because it is unusual, however, it may be most suc- cessful. When you send your invitations, if you ask each person to come prepared to do a sleight-of-hand trick the evening's entertain- ment is at least half arranged. Transparent and old tricks are not debarred, though of course new ones are most acceptable. Arrange- ment should be made for the table for the conjurers and chairs for the audience, if you have two rooms with folding double doors or portieres between, this will be the best place for the games. A box of " April-fool candy," i68 7^^ 5ooA 0/ Games M, V:'' a "Jack-in-the-box," or other toy, may be given as a prize for the best trick. At supper surprises may be very apropos. Any housekeeper will think of things in the way of eatables which are not what they seem, but should all else fail ice-cream in surprising colors and shapes may be served. A prize should be given at the end of the evening to the person who has not been " April fooled " all the evening long, also to the one who has successfully fooled the greatest number of persons. CVI Hallowe'en Materials Required : TAe reader is referred to the detailed descriptions of the following ^ames. To deviate from the old customs and games on this day of all others would never do, and lest some of these traditions should be over- looked or forgotten, they are repeated here. Fortune Hunting is not what its name usu- ally implies, but is very amusing. A ring, a Hallowe'en 169 i piece of money, and a thimble are hidden be- forehand in dlflferent places in the room where the guests are to be entertained. This game may be the first of the evening. The player who finds the ring will be married first and " Live happily ever after ; " the one who finds the money will have wealth, and the person who finds the thimble will live unmarried to the end of his or her life. Fortunes. — A novel fortune-telling device is arranged beforehand in this way. The hostess collects a number of small articles, each sug- gestive of some profession or business: An army and a navy button, a box of sugar pills, a pen, a palette, a piece of ticker tape, a bit of coal or iron, or just a package of earth. There should be as many of these articles as there are ladies invited, and they should be wrapped in paper and popped into a large bag, which is brought out on the night of the party, and each maiden " puts in her thumb and pulls out a plum." Whoever gets the navy button will marry a sailor, the one who pulls out the package of earth will be a farmer's bride, tic. For the gentlemen a tray of sealed envelopes \] 1. ^1 O^^a. ^Q.> v^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I f. ilM ilM i/- IlM WUu lllll i.8 '•25 1.4 1.6 * 6" ► .^ V]

^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 170 The Book of Games iw \ '4 t IJ is handed about and each draws one. They will be found to contain pictures of girls. In one a bicycle girl, in another a sweet little cook, while still another is golfing, and these are prophetic of the kind of wife each will have. Candle and Looking-glass Test. — Each per- son in turn walks down-stairs backward, alone ; with a looking-glass in one hand and a lighted candle in the other. It is supposed that each will see the face of his or her future wife or husband in the glass. Instead of this test, an- other, it is said, will bring the same result. This is to run three times round th.'» outside of the house with one's mouth full of water. The Lead TT^s/.— Each person melts some lead (it is easily done in a saucepan over a coal fire), and pours it through a key-handle or a wedding-ring into a pail or basin of water. The lead cools in strange shapes which anyone who is ingenious can interpret very amusingly. Snap-dragon^ that good old sport, may be played in two ways, with raisins or with verses written beforehand on slips of paper folded very small and covered with tin-foil. They 'hey In little Ihese will .« i 173 The Book of Games dren's favorites. A tub of water, in which sev- eral apples are floating, is brought in ; and each person in turn tries to lift one out with his teeth alone. The Water Charm. — Three dishes are placed on a table, one containing clear water, one soapy water, and one empty. The guests are blindfolded in turn and led to the dishes, which have been changed about so that the blind- folded person cannot know their relative posi- tions. He puts his finger into one. If it is the clear water he will be happily married, if the soapy water he m)\ marry a widow, and if it is the empty one he will never marry. Kaling. — This can only be played at a coun- try house where there is a vegetable garden near by. Two players at a tirr.e are blind- folded and led to the cabb?ge bed, where each pulls up a cabbage stalk and returns to the house. The shape of the stalk means much to the interpreter ; if it is straight and shapely the omen is a good one, especially if there is a quantity of dirt (representing wealth) clinging to the roots. h: t Topsy-turvy and Christmas Party 173 CVII Topsy-turvy and Christmas Party Materials Required : A miniature Christ- mas-tree ; as many numbered cards in duplicate as there are guests. Have you ever thought of giving a Topsy- turvy party — one where everything is as it ought not to be ? Here is a programme for one which is a Christmas party as well, and if given in Christmas week is pretty sure to be a success. Every guest is asked to bring a sim- ple Christmas present, appropriate for a lady or gentleman, as is preferred. programme No. 1. The Unexpected. No. 2. Little, but oh my ! No. 3. Have a Smile with me.^ No. 4. A Freak of Fancy. No. 5. A Draw Game. No. 6. } " The Unexpected " is supper, a very light one. " Little, but oh my ! " is the Christmas- 174 The Book of Games tree, the smallest possible tree, hung from the ceiling upside down. There should be a very tall and thin Santa Claus. The presents, neatly done up, each bear a number, and these numbers match others which were drawn by the players before the games began. As the numbers on the packages are called the play- ers who hold the duplicate numbers claim their presents, which are sure to be malapropos, as there is no possibility of anyone getting what was intended for him. The rest of the evening is devoted to sev- eral games already described. No. 3 on the programme, "Have a Smile with me?" is " Nonsense Rhyming." As a prize for the best rhyme that very curious and attractive book, " Topsys and Turvys," by Peter Newell, seems particularly appropriate. " A Freak of Fancy " is the game called " Teapot." " A Draw Game" is drawing pigs with the eyes shut ; see " Blind Artists." " } " is the second and bona-fide supper. And after that, good- morning, for it will surely be after twelve. fi. I &•■ A Children's Party for Grown People 175 CVIII A Children's Party for Grown People An entirely novel and funny plan is to ask fifteen or twenty grown people to a children's party, where they themselves are to be the chil- dren. Raids on the nursery can be made for blocks, puzzles, balls, battledore and shuttle- cock, and other toys, and these, with such games as " A Spoonful of Fun," " Hunt the Whistle," " Teapot," and " Here we go round the Barberry Bush," will furnish amusement for the young people if it is the season for in-door games. " The Baby Show " should come just before supper. At supper bibs are used instead of napkins — those printed with outline pictures and appropriate inscriptions, such as "Our Pet," "For a Good Girl," etc., will be particularly appreciated, and they need not be embroidered, but may easily be painted in water-colors. If the party is given in sum- mer, when out-of-door games are possible, "Hide and Seek," "Tag," " Prisoner's Base," >^/ i 1^ I i! V 176 The Book of Games and " Base-ball " are only a few of the de- lightful and exciting amusements which will '* make me a child again just for to-night," even though the consequences may be " that tired feeling " to-morrow. de- will ht," that PART IV OLD FAVORITES FOR CHILDREN I CIX My Lady's Toilet Materials Required circular tray. A wooden plate or vr This game is an elaboration of 'S^jn the Platter." Each player chooses iV me of some article belonging to a lady's toi , such as "mirror," "brush," "hair-pin," "scent- bottle," and so on. The leader then takes a wooden plate, or any other circular object that cannot be easily broken, and twirls it around in the centre of the room, on the floor, naming at the same time some article from a lady's dressing-table. Upon this the player who bears the name of that article starts from his seat and tries to catch the wooden plate before it falls, failing to do which he pays a forfeit and takes the spinner's place. If a player can catch the plate before it falls he has no forfeit to pay, but takes the spinner's place just as though he had failed. The person who spins i8o The Book of Games the plate generally prefaces the name of the article with a sentence like this: "My lady is going to the theatre and wants her scent- bottled' At this the " scent-bottle " springs up and tries to catch the plate. When the word "toilet" is spoken by the plate-spinner all the players change their seats, and as the spinner takes care to secure a place, one player of course finds himself without one, and is obliged to pay a forfeit and twirl the plate. When the game flags the forfeits may be redeemed. ♦: CX Hunt the Whistle Materials Required: One small light-weight whistle. • Someone who has never seen the game played is elected hunter; the others form a circle, either sitting or standing, around him. The hunter, after the whistle har been shown to him, is blindfolded until it is concealed. While his eyes are closed the whistle is very carefully attached to the back of his coat by means of a / Bookbinder i8i string and a bent pin. He may now unbandage his eyes. One of the players to whom his back is turned then blows the whistle and drops it, and the hunter is told to try and find it ; but this is no easy matter, as he carries the object of his search about with him. As op- portunities occur different players blow the whistle and then drop it. The hunter is some- times fairly tired out before he discovers the trick that is being played on him. It is scarce- ly necessary to say that the whistle should be very small and light. CXI Bookbinder The company is seated in the form of a cir- cle, except one person for leader, who stands in the centre. Each person extends both hands together, palms upward, and on each one's out- stretched hands a book is placed. The leader then proceeds arounds the circle and suddenly snatches one of the books, trying to strike with it the hands upon which it rested before they 1 82 ,i h Book of Games ?■ ■ , r^ can be w \ vn. If successful, the person struck p ta^^e a turn as leader ; if not, the book is replaced and the leader tries again. If one's hands are withdrawn becp.use of a feint by the leader, or before the book is actually caught up, it counts against one the same as li struck. CXII Blowing the Feather Materials Required : One large sheet or table-cloth y one feather from a pillow, A simple and successful game is the old- fashioned one called "Blowing the Feather." Having provided a sheet or table-cloth and a small feather such as sofa-pillows are stuffed with, ask your guests (all but one) to be seated on the floor in a hollow square. The table- cloth or sheet is then spread so that the players can hold the edges of the sides and ends up just under their chins, thus stretching the cloth taut about a foot and a half above the floor. Upon the cloth the small feather is placed, and the player who is left out of the square is then I K / "■ Magic Music 183 f 'z : * told that he must do his best to catch it either in front of or upon some one of the seated players, who will then be obliged to take his place. At a signal the players on the floor begin to blow and the feather flies hither and thither, never resting, while amid much laughter the player who is out flies hither and thither too until he catches it at last on some unwary individual or someone too weak from laughing to blow quickly and effectively. CXIIl MAGIC Music This old-fashioned game is so generally known that it seems hardly necessary to de- scribe it, yet it is so useful for certain occa- sions that it is admitted here more as a re- minder than a description. One player having been sent from the room, the others arrange something for him to do upon his return. When all are agreed upon what the action is to be the out-player is summoned by magic music, which is made by one of the other play- 184 The Book of Games ers, either by tapping some metal object with a key or by rattling shovel and tongs together. The person who has been out of the room must perform the appointed task as he is guided by the musician, who so regulates the music that the sounds are loud and noisy when the puz- zled player does what he ought not and soft when he begins to do anything like the per- formance of his task. To be more explicit, we will suppose the thing to do is to take a sofa-pillow and put it behind a certain lady's back. The player entering is greeted by the confusing magic music, which at first bothers him by its clatter. He walks toward the divan where the pillow is lying, when the music grows faint ; this shows that he is going in the right direction. He touches a chair, the music grows loud; he touches the divan, the music is faint, and ceases as he touches the cushion. He now knows that he is to do something with the cushion, and in turn tries sitting on it, holding it, throwing it down in front of someone, but the music keeps him informed that no one of these is the right 2v Jon, till he puts it behind a lady, t Animals 185 not the one appointed, and the music grows very faint. At last he puts it back of the right person, and his arduous task is accom- plished. The other players may in turn go out of the room and have tasks given them, but the musician generally keeps his position as long as the game lasts. CXIV Animals This is a form of Blindman's-BufT. The leader is blindfolded, and the company may remain seated or standing about the room. The leader proceeds around until he can touch some person, when the person touched must give an imitation of the noise made by some animal— a cat, pig, cow, dog, etc.— repeat- ing it three times, if requested; and, from the voice, the leader endeavors to name the person. If he succeeds, the person named must in turn become leader, otherwise he tries again. i 1 86 The Book qf Games cxv Trolley-car This game will suggest an old friend— Stage- coach. But as travelling by coach is hardly up to date we will, instead, go by electricity. The players take the following names, as they choose, and whenever in the story (which is read or simply told by the leader) their names are spoken they must make whatever action is appropriate to the name, or failing must give a forfeit: Trolley-car, when spoken of, must rise and turn around twice. Mat, must rise and stamp twice with the right foot. Rails, must rise and hold both arms in front, as the rails of a track go. Advertisements, must rise and look up, reciting some well-known street-car advertisement. Straps, must rise and swing as if by straps when the car stoi s with a jerk. Conductor, calls the name of a street. Bell, must rise and cry " Ding, ding I " Motor-man, must rise and turn imaginary brake. Trolley, must rise and drop suddenly into seat. Trolley-car 187 Stove, must rise, sit down on the floor, and rise again witliout toucliing anytliing. Newsboy, must rise and call " Papers I " Electricity, must rise and imitate the fizzing and spitting of electric sparks. Passengers, must all ri.e and sit down again. The players being seated in a circle the leader stands in the centre and begins the story, to which all listen attentively, so that each person, as his name is spoken, may go through the actions assigned to it. When the leader cries " Trolley's off! " all the players change seats, the leader getting one if he can and leaving out one of the other players, who tells another story. For example: Leader : " Going out to Lonely ville the other even- ing, to dine, I took the trolley-car (Trolley-car rises and turns around twice) and unfortunately found that every- one else seemed to be doing the same thing, for the crowd \tras tremendous and there was hardly foot-room. As I pushed my way in I tripped over the mat (Mat rises and stamps twice with the right foot) and landed on the stove (Stove rises, sits down on the floor, and rises again without touching anything). Recovering myself and my dress-suit case with an effort, I tried to look cold and dignified and gazed up at the advertise- ments (Advertisements rises and looks up, reciting some iiiii ^mpi mn i 1 88 The Book of Games familiiii advertisement). We bumped along over the rails (Rails rises and holds both arms out in front), the people swaying against each other as they hung on to the straps (Straps rises and swings back and forth by imaginary straps). The conductor (Conductor calls the name of a street), every time we stopped, called out, • Pass right up forward, plenty of room in front,' and of course theie was plenty of room— on top of 'he other passengers (All rise and sit down again). " After one of these stops, as we picked ourselves out of the heap of humanity in the forward end of the car, we found at the bottom of the pile a small and dirty newsboy (Newsboy rises and cries ' Papers I ') who seemed to be crushed to a jelly, but managed to pull himself together enough to sell out ?a\ his papers to the sympathizing crowd. Just then the bell (Bell rises and cries ♦ Ding, ding I ') began to ring violently, we heard the motor-man (Motor-man rises and turns brake) cry, • Jump for your lives ! ' Thump came the trolley (Trolley rises and drops suddenly into his seat) down on the top of the car, sparks of electricity (Elecfricity rises and imitates fizzing and spitting of electric sparks) 'it up the darkness, crash came another car into our It'-, and we were telescoped, amid shouts of 'Trolley's off I '" (All rise and change seats, and another leader begins a story.) $ SOME FORFEITS Blow out a Candle Blindfolded: A lighted candle is placed on a mantel; the blind- folded victim stands with his back to the candle, takes five steps forward, turns around, advances five steps, and blows out the candle — perhaps. Walk a Tight Rope: Place a chair at the opposite side of the room, take a cane or umbrella in your hand, lean down till your forehead touches your hand, close your eyes, and turn the body around rapidly three times, then open your eyes and walk straight to the chair. Blow a Card Over : Bend over the edges at the ends of an ordinary visiting-card, at n^ht angles, in the form of a box-lid with- out sides, place it on the table on the bent edges, so that the air can pass under it, then blow it over— if you can. Walk around the Room and Bestow a Smile on Each Person, in turn. Yawn until you Make Someone else Yawn. ijitoiiMMiM '!Cic*;*i'.ti..*Ulitr«»*v,i 190 The Book of Games Bite the Apple: Select a very smooth apple and suspend it by a string from a chandelier to about the height of the victim's mouth, who must, without touching it with the hands or otherwise, bite a piece from it. Repeat a Verse of Poetry and Count the Words. Thus; " Mary (one) had (two) a (three) little (four) lamb (five),'* etc. Hobson's Choice : Blacken one end of a cork by burning it. The victim, having been blindfolded, is asked to choose the right or left end (having first been informed that one end is black). The end chosen is drawn across the forehead or cheek. This is re- peated three times, when the bandage is removed ;?nd a mirror produced. Eat a String, Rabbit Fashion : A yard or two of clean string is produced, one end placed in the mouth and the balance drawn in by the lips, etc., without being touched by the hands or oth(jrwise. This may be varied by tying a bonbon in the middle of the string and starting a player at either end. Guess Blindfolded who Gives you a Spoonful of Water. 1-3 W 4b ^